A witness who testified at the Sessions Court on Monday (Aug 28) in the undersea tunnel case involving Lim Guan Eng denied allegations that he concealed facts in a WhatsApp conversation related to the “big boss” with the intention of framing the former Penang chief minister on corruption charges. The witness, Wan Mohd Firdaus Wan Yusof, an investigating officer from the Forensic Department of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), also rejected claims that he was instructed to exclude pertinent information from the forensic report in order to falsely implicate Lim.
The term “big boss” was mentioned in a forensic report that involved a WhatsApp exchange between businessman G. Gnanaraja and Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli. However, the eighth prosecution witness dismissed the suggestion made by Lim’s lawyer, Gobind Singh Deo, that the omission of facts was a deliberate attempt to frame Lim.
During the preceding hearing, the court learned that the WhatsApp conversation between Gnanaraja and Zarul Ahmad included references to a RM2 million gift for the “big boss”. Gobind contended that part of the conversation, which was allegedly withheld by Wan Mohd Firdaus, contained a message about celebrating the “big boss’s” birthday with cake on July 23, 2017.
Gobind: Do you know who celebrates their birthday on July 23? It is not my client’s birthday.
Wan Mohd Firdaus: I don’t know.
Gobind: I suggest that July 23 is Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s birthday.
Wan Mohd Firdaus: I don’t know.
The witness also refuted Gobind’s allegation that he was instructed to withhold the original report, which was submitted to the Shah Alam Court, in order to obscure details about the “big boss” during the trial involving Lim.
Lim is currently facing amended charges of accepting a bribe of RM3.3 million, using his position as the former Penang chief minister, to assist Zarul Ahmad’s company in obtaining a construction project worth RM6.34 billion at the Office of the Chief Minister of Penang between January 2011 and August 2017. In a second amended charge, Lim is accused of soliciting a 10% share of the company’s profits from Zarul Ahmad as an inducement for securing the project. The alleged incident took place near The Gardens Hotel in Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur, in March 2011. Lim is also facing charges related to the disposal of two plots of land worth RM208.8 million owned by the Penang government to companies allegedly linked to the undersea tunnel project. The offences reportedly occurred at the Penang Land and Mines Office in Komtar on February 17, 2015, and March 22, 2017.
The trial, presided over by Judge Azura Alwi, will resume on September 18.- Bernama
Credit: The Star : News Feed
