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GEORGE TOWN: Several lawyers have disputed comments made by a prosecutor in Lim Guan Eng’s latest charge of criminal misappropriation of 208.7 million ringgit of Penang state land involving two companies.
They said the comments were unwarranted.
Earlier today, Assistant District Attorney Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said that Lim’s case today was “the mother of all cases” compared to the other charges he faced. He said prosecutions were carried out in cases where there was a “99%” chance of conviction.
Attorney V Parthipan said it was unprecedented for a prosecutor to make such a statement when judges would be the ones to decide whether a case would lead to a conviction.
“If you have strong evidence, it is best to proceed with your evidence and arguments in court. It is not necessary to give statements like a ‘99% success rate’.
“It is as if we are pressuring the judge to convict the accused because he has a good case. Furthermore, if the DPP fails to convict the accused, it would look bad for them, ”he told FMT.
Lawyer Siti Zabedah Kasim said that a DPP must seek to protect the innocent and convict the guilty, and respect the legal rights of everyone, including the accused.
“I hope that in your eagerness to prosecute, you do not stop appreciating your obligations. I hope you do not get carried away by the impulse to punish the accused.
“There is no greater threat to the criminal justice system than that of an unethical prosecutor.
“Not only is a prosecutor not obligated to pursue a conviction at all costs, but ethical rules prohibit him from willfully undermining the rights of the accused. The prosecutor is also obliged to do the right thing on the part of the accused, ”he said.
Another lawyer, who did not want to be named, said the DPP’s statement was “highly irregular” as most shied away from media attention to avoid a “media trial” situation.
“This also raises the question of whether the learned Attorney General Idrus Harun approved of such a statement.
“Statements to the media, if any, must be to provide accurate facts for public consumption. Not because of the opinions and gut feelings of the prosecutor.
“The prosecutor’s opinion means nothing since his only job is to prosecute based on the available evidence obtained from the investigation,” he said.
Lim’s chief defense attorney, Gobind Singh Deo, said it was strange to see the same prosecutors commenting on the case when they had previously asked the court for a gag order. So far, the courts have not issued a gag order.
He said he would refer the matter to court for a possible subjudicial situation as a result of the comments.
“Do not fool yourself. If you only prefer charges in cases where you are 99% certain of convictions, why don’t you see 99% of convictions in all criminal proceedings?
“This is because, in many cases, the evidence produced is simply not enough to secure a conviction.
“We, the defense, are of the opinion that the prosecution has no case against Lim.
“We believe that what he (the DPP) has done is clearly subjudicial. So go ahead. So let this be the ‘mother of all charges’. Let’s see what happens, ”he said in a post on Facebook.
Outside Butterworth court this morning, journalists asked Wan Shaharuddin about the difference between today’s criminal charges against Lim and three others in the past month.
To this, he replied: “What I can say is that today’s charges are the mother of all charges. When I say all charges, the two charges today.
When asked about the prosecution’s chances in the case, Wan Shaharuddin said the policy of the Malaysian Attorney General and Anti-Corruption Commission was that “we only prosecute cases where we have a 99% chance of obtaining a conviction” , while (the rest) 1% was left to an “act of God”.
“We cannot say that we have a 100% chance of victory, but we will process 99% where we have a chance of winning,” he said.
FMT has contacted Wan Shaharuddin through AGC’s corporate communications division and is awaiting his response to the attorneys’ comments.
