[UPDATED] Judge rebukes Guan Eng for publicly commenting on his trial

KUALA LUMPUR – The sessions court judge is upset with former finance minister Lim Guan Eng after he made public remarks on his ongoing corruption trial involving the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project.

Judge Azura Alwi today said she is upset over the press statement Lim issued last Friday after his hearing ended, warning that it should not happen again.

“This matter happened when this case was first brought to court. I had said that parties in this case should not make any sub judice statements,” she was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.

Meanwhile, the court was told that a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer lodged a police report against Lim last week.

“We hope the court issues a warning against the accused person (Lim), so such a thing will not happen again,” said deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.

This led to an apology issued by Lim’s lead counsel Gobind Singh Deo.

Meanwhile, Malaysiakini reported that former Consortium Zenith Beijing Urban Construction Group Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) senior vice-president Azli Adam today testified that the company falsified invoices and payment vouchers between 2012 and 2017 so that cash withdrawals could be made to bribe Lim.

Azli said his ex-boss Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli instructed him to obtain false letterheads for two companies, Sinar Bina Consultancy Services and Bintang Ria Engineering, and payments between RM10,000 and RM15,000 were given to a “middleman” to falsify invoices.

Last Friday, Lim posted on Facebook in a bid to refute a witness’ testimony, saying he did not receive any monetary bribes and that the allegation made against him was purely fictitious.

“It is clear because there is no money trail whether in cash or in my bank account. I believe this is a political conspiracy because not a single politician has been prosecuted even though there is no money trail, tape recording or audio and video recording that I demanded money.”

This came after CZBUCG director Zarul told the court that he gave RM3.3 million to Lim to help the company secure the three paired roads and undersea tunnel project in Penang.

“This was all a part of the demand of 10% of the project’s profits. If the project was not awarded to me, of course, I would not pay,” he said when reading his testimony during the examination by deputy public prosecutor Farah Yasmin Salleh.

Lim is facing an amended charge of using his position as Penang chief minister at that time to receive a bribe of RM3.3 million for helping the company owned by Zarul to obtain a construction project worth RM6,341,383,702. The offence was allegedly committed at the Penang chief minister’s office, 28th floor, Komtar, George Town between January 2011 and August 2017.

For the second amended charge, he is alleged to have solicited from Zarul 10% of the profit to be gained by the company in exchange for the firm obtaining the project. Lim is accused of committing this offence near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, here, in March 2011.

Lim is also facing two other charges of causing two plots of land worth RM208.8 million belonging to the Penang government to be disposed of to two companies claimed to be linked to the undersea tunnel project.

He is charged with committing the offences at the Penang Land and Mines Department, 21st floor, Komtar on February 17, 2015 and March 22, 2017. – The Vibes, June 27, 2022