THE Sessions Court was told that there were four to five meetings between Consortium Zenith Beijing Urban Construction Group (CZBUCG) and the Penang state government before the open tender bidding for the main road and undersea tunnel project in the state.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Senior Superintendent Zulhilmi Ramli, 34, said the meeting was attended by the company's representative, Datuk Lee Chee Hoe, and a state government representative from the Penang State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN), known as Azlan.
The 38th prosecution witness, who answered questions from defence lawyer Mohd Haijan Omar during the cross-examination session, however, said he could not remember the date of the meeting.
The witness said this at the trial of former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, 65, who is facing a corruption case related to the construction of a main road and undersea tunnel project in Penang worth RM6.3 billion.
Zulhilmi also rejected Haijan's suggestion that there was no basis to support the CZBUCG witness's claim regarding all the meetings they attended, apart from three meetings on 10 and 19 May and 11 July 2011, which were before the tender was opened.
Zulhilmi said this was based on the testimony of former CZBUCG Director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli that there were initial meetings, and he agreed that there were no records of the additional meetings.
Zulhilmi also agreed that the documents seized mostly consisted of payment forms, cheque books and files related to the construction of three main roads.
Previously, Zulhilmi, through his witness statement, said CZBUCG had technical and financial advantages in securing the project as it had held discussions with the state government before the open tender process, giving it access to specific project information.
Lim is accused of using his position as Penang Chief Minister to obtain bribes for himself amounting to RM3.3 million, by helping a company owned by Zarul Ahmad to be appointed to carry out a major road and tunnel construction project in Penang worth RM6,341,383,702, at the Penang Chief Minister's Office between January 2011 and August 2017.
For the second charge, the Bagan MP is accused of requesting a bribe of 10 per cent of the profits to be obtained from Zarul Ahmad, as a reward for helping the businessman's company to be appointed for the same project.
He also faces two charges of causing two lots of land owned by the Penang Government, worth RM208.8 million, to be disposed of to a developer company related to the undersea tunnel project,
The trial before Judge Azura Alwi continues tomorrow. – July 23, 2026
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