KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Former Malaysian finance minister Lim Guan Eng has pleaded not guilty to two amended charges of corruption involving the Penang undersea tunnel project. The graft trial is set to begin on June 8, 2021.
Lim, 60, is charged with receiving RM3.3 million (S$1.1 million) as an inducement to help a company secure the undersea tunnel project, valued at RM6.3 billion.
He is alleged to have received the bribe in his capacity as the then Chief Minister of Penang at his office in the Komtar building in George Town, Penang, between January 2011 and August 2017.
A clause in the charge sheet, which states that Lim had a direct stake in the undersea tunnel project, was removed.
Lim is also charged with soliciting 10 per cent of the profit from the company's director, Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, for helping it to secure the project.
The amendment added a time frame to the accusation, stating that it occurred between 12.30am and 2am near The Gardens Hotel at Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, in Kuala Lumpur. No date was added, with the charge sheet stating only March 2011.
Both charges are punishable under Section 24(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, with up to 20 years in prison and a fine of not less than RM100,000 or five times the value of the gratification, upon conviction.
During case management yesterday, deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said the prosecution would be calling 80 to 90 witnesses for the trial.
Lim's lawyer Gobind Singh Deo applied to have the various charges heard together in one trial before the Kuala Lumpur court, as the charges originated in both Kuala Lumpur and George Town.
Mr Gobind also requested for a later trial date so that he could go over eight volumes of case documents handed over by the prosecution.
Meanwhile, Lim is also facing two counts of misappropriation of property for causing two plots of land belonging to the Penang government worth RM208.8 million to be disposed of by two companies linked to the undersea tunnel project.
He is alleged to have committed the offences at the Penang Land and Mines Office in Komtar on Feb 17, 2015, and March 22, 2017.
The charges under Section 403 of the Penal Code are punishable by a jail term of up to five years, whipping and a fine, upon conviction.
Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi agreed to have the charges heard together and fixed 31 days for the trial to run from June to December, starting on June 8.
