Guan Eng happy when Najib attended undersea tunnel MoU signing ceremony, court told.
The trial before Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi will resume on Apr 1, 2022.
SOURCE: The NST – By Sharanjit Singh – March 24, 2022
KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) officer today explained in detail how he had recorded late property tycoon Datuk Ewe Swee Kheng‘s statement on his company’s dealings with Lim Guan Eng on a land swap deal in connection with the Penang undersea tunnel project.
MACC officer Mohd Nazri Mansor also told the court why he did not bother to record Ewe’s statement in a video interview room and the reason he hand wrote whatever the developer wanted to say on Aug 14 last year.
It later turned out to be Ewe’s final statement to the MACC as the founder of Ewein Bhd fell to his death two months later.
It was reported Ewe – who was supposed be the key prosecution witness in Lim’s corruption trial, died after falling from his condominium at Jalan Kelawei in Penang early morning of Oct 5.
Lim’s lead counsel Gobind Singh Deo today questioned Nazri at length on Ewe’s statement which was read in court yesterday.
Asked if there were rooms with CCTV cameras where video recordings could have been done at the Penang MACC headquarters where Ewe gave his statement, Nazri said there were.
However, he said there were a lot of formalities involved when any MACC officer wanted to use the video interview room.
This, he said, included getting approvals from his superior officers and setting up the video recording equipment.
When re-examined by Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, Nazri elaborated that Ewe was not a suspect in the case.
“Yes, he was just a witness and not a suspect or accused person in connection with this case,” he said in response to Wan Shaharuddin’s question.
To another question why he chose to record Ewe’s statement in a handwritten format instead of typing it out using a computer, Nazri said he had actually forgotten to bring along his laptop on that day.
“I accidently left my laptop in my hotel room and that is why I was forced to record his statement in handwriting.
“Anyway, this is allowed and there is nothing wrong with it,” he said.
On the issue of Ewe suddenly making a departure from his earlier five statements to the MACC where he denied making any shady deals with Lim, Nazri said the tycoon had explained everything in his final statement.
He denied Gobind’s suggestion that the statement was nothing more than a creation.
It was reported that Ewe in his final statement had revealed his dealings with Lim and detailed how he had promised the DAP politician cash reward and several units of residential property in the City of Dreams project in return for securing state land.
Ewe claimed he had also heard at that time that Lim received money from contractors, and he wanted to expose all this to the graft busters as the truth needed to be told.
Meanwhile, another key prosecution witness, Consortium Zenith BUCG (CZBUCG) owner Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkefli testified that Lim was very happy when he managed to get then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Chinese premier Wen JiaBao to attend the undersea tunnel project’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony in Putrajaya in April 2011.
Zarul said Lim was happy that many had become envious about his achievement in getting the MoU signed in the presence of the two top leaders.
“He said there were many Mata Merah (angry people) because of the achievement.
“I believe he was directing it at the MCA,” he said.
Lim is on trial after being accused of using his position as then Penang chief minister to obtain a RM3.3 million bribe for helping Zarul’s company to secure the RM6.34 billion undersea tunnel project.
He is also accused of soliciting bribes amounting to 10 per cent of the profits as gratification for helping Zarul’s company to secure the project.
Lim also faces two charges of causing two plots of land, worth RM208.8 million, belonging to the Penang government to be disposed of to two companies, which are linked to the undersea tunnel project.
The trial before Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi will resume on Apr 1.
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