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KUALA LUMPUR: Former Penang Prime Minister Lim Guan Eng’s corruption case related to the state’s underwater tunnel project in Butterworth Court of Sessions will be heard alongside his case in Court of Sessions here.
The Butterworth Sessions Court had on 10 August allowed the prosecution’s request to transfer the case to Kuala Lumpur for joint hearing, as they involved the same transaction.
In today’s proceedings before Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi, Assistant Prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin requested that the 60-year-old Lim be reread the charge.
Lim, who is a Bagan MP, upheld his plea of not guilty. He is represented by attorney Gobind Singh Deo.
Azura then set October 12 to be mentioned.
Lim was then indicted in his capacity as Prime Minister of Penang. It is alleged that he used his position to obtain a bonus of more than RM3.3 million to help a company owned by Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli to secure the RM6.3 billion underwater tunnel project.
Zarul is a director of Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd.
Lim was charged with committing the crime at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office at Level 28, Komtar, George Town, Penang, between January 2011 and August 2017.
The charge falls under Section 23 (1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which provides for a prison term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum or the value of the bonus, or 10,000 ringgit. whichever is greater, if convicted.
For the case here, Lim was charged with requesting gratuity to help the company secure Penang’s roads and the underwater tunnel project.
It is alleged that he sought 10% of the profit that Zarul’s company would make near the Gardens Hotel in Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City here in March 2011.
