KUALA LUMPUR: Lim Guan Eng’s lawyers will initiate contempt proceedings against the prosecution in his undersea tunnel project corruption trial for allegedly failing to abide by a court order.
Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo said this after Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer Wan Mohd Firdaus Wan Yusof told the court he could not produce WhatsApp messages from a mobile phone belonging to businessman G Gnanaraja, who is scheduled to testify later.
The defence wants Gnanaraja’s WhatsApp conversations with the case’s main witness, Consortium Zenith Sdn Bhd director Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, produced as part of the discovery process in the case.
The messages had been tendered in another sessions court proceeding in Shah Alam, where Gnanaraja was charged with cheating Zarul.
Last month, trial judge Azura Alwi ordered the prosecution to hand over the contents of the messages to the defence team.
Firdaus, however, said he was unable to do so as the deputy public prosecutors (DPP) had not given him “complete information”.
The witness said DPP Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin had failed to give him Gnanaraja’s case number.
This irked Gobind, who said the prosecution’s failure to produce the WhatsApp messages was tantamount to contempt as the prosecution was suppressing evidence from the defence.
He said the contents of the messages will show that Lim had been “fixed up” in the case.
“Unless the contempt is purged, I want these proceedings to stop,” Gobind said, adding that the court should summon Attorney-General Idrus Harun to appear and explain the prosecution’s conduct.
In response, DPP Mahadi Abdul Jumaat said Gobind’s remarks were unfair.
He said the defence had made its applications in tranches, and should file a formal application to detail exactly what it wants.
Mahadi pointed out that since Lim’s trial started in July 2021, the defence had made various applications to obtain documents from them, often disrupting ongoing proceedings.
“What happened in Gnanaraja’s Shah Alam court case is not relevant to our case here.
“Gnanaraja’s case has been completed, and the documents related to that case are not with us,” he added.
Azura insisted that she was maintaining her Sept 29 order for the prosecution to hand over Gnanaraja’s WhatsApp messages.
She told the defence team to file its bid to initiate contempt within three weeks from today.
Lim is accused of using his position as the then Penang chief minister to ask Zarul for a 10% cut of the profits from the roads-and-tunnel project.
The former finance minister is also accused of seeking RM3.3 million in kickbacks to appoint Zarul’s company to undertake the project.
He also faces two counts of dishonestly misappropriating RM208.7 million worth of state land given to two companies.
The hearing continues on Nov 23. - FMT
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