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BUTTERWORTH: The case management date for the gratification, laundering and complicity cases involving former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, his wife Betty Chew Gek Cheng and businesswoman Phang Li Koon has been set for December 18.
Judge Ahmad Azhari Abdul Hamid set the date after attorney RSN Rayer, representing Lim and Chew, said that the attorneys needed time to review the documents released by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Deputy Prosecutor S. Selvaranjini, representing MACC, said that most of the documents had been delivered to various lawyers representing Lim, Chew and Phang.
He then requested that a case management date be set to give the defense team time to review the documents.
Then Rayer asked for a few months to review the documents.
Phang’s attorney, A. Rueban Kumar, was also present in Butterworth session court on Friday (October 16).
The documents were delivered under article 51 (A) of the Criminal Procedure Code, as the prosecution is required to provide the documents related to a case to the defense team before the hearing begins.
Lim, 60, was charged on August 11 with abusing his public office for gratification under Section 23 of the MACC Act of 2009 when he was Prime Minister and Chairman of the Penang Development Corporation between 19 December August 2013 and March 3, 2016.
He was accused of obtaining RM372,009 for his wife Chew through Excel Property Management and Consultancy Sdn Bhd to ensure that Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd received an offer to build dormitories for foreign workers in Juru and Batu Kawan worth RM11.61 thousand.
The offense contemplated in Section 23 of the MACC Act of 2009 is punishable under Section 24 (1) of the same Act and carries a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of gratuity or 10,000 ringgit. whichever is higher, out of conviction.
In the same courtroom, Chew, 56, was charged with three counts of money laundering.
She is accused of receiving RM87,009 in illegal income from Excel Property Management and Consultancy to her bank account between October 7, 2013 and August 4, 2014.
Charge under Section 4 (1) (a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act of 2001 carries a fine of up to RM5 thousand or a maximum of five years in jail, or both, upon conviction .
She faces two more charges for receiving a total of RM285,000 in illegal income from the same company, of which RM180,000 was allegedly received between September 3, 2014 and August 11, 2015, and RM105,000 between on September 4, 2015. and March 3, 2016.
Both counts under Section 4 (1) (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds from Illicit Activities Act of 2001 carry a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount received or RM5 thousand, whichever is greater, if convicted.
Phang, 48, a director of Excel Property Management and Consultancy, was charged with inciting Lim to obtain RM372,009 for his wife.
Phang is subject to Section 28 (1) (c) of the MACC Act of 2009.
The legal team is led by attorneys Rayer, Gobind Singh Deo and V. Vemal Arasan who represent Lim.
Ramkarpal Singh, Sangeet Kaur Deo and Lee Khai represent Chew and Datuk V. Sithambaram and Rueban Kumar represent Phang.
The DPP team is led by Ahmad Akram Gharib, supported by Mohd Mukhzany Fariz Mohd Mokhtar, Roslan Mat Nor, and Francine Cheryl Rajendram.
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