Malaysiakini.net
Soon Li Tsin
Jul 3, 07 11:59am
The prosecution today listed five contradictions in the testimony of their key witness lance corporal Rohaniza Roslan in the Altantuya murder trial.
Deputy public prosecutor Noorin Badaruddin told the court that the facts found in these five issues were different from what Rohaniza, 29 (right) told the police in her first witness statement.
The policewoman affirmed that she had made those original statements and was asked by judge Mohd Zaki Md Yasin to justify each contradiction.
Asia Sentinel
Mat Salleh
July 1, 2007
Testimony in a Malaysian courtroom links the deputy prime minister to a lurid murder case
Months of conjecture in Malaysia about the relationship of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to Altantuya Shaariibuu have been heightened by testimony Friday of Altantuya’s cousin, Burmaa Oyunchimeg, that she had seen a photo of Najib having dinner with the Mongolian beauty and Abdul Razak Baginda, who is accused of arranging for her murder.
Najib has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Altantuya. A spokesman said Saturday that he won’t answer any questions concerning her because he has never met her. Nonetheless, opposition leaders Anwar Ibraham of Parti Keadilan and Lim Guan Eng of the Democratic Action Party both pounced on Burmaa’s testimony, demanding he explain the photo, which the woman said she had seen but did not produce.
Associated Press
By JULIA ZAPPEI
June 28, 2007
(KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia) Prosecutors have appealed the acquittal of a former steel tycoon who was charged with corruption in one of Malaysia’s biggest financial scandals, an official said Thursday.
The prosecution will review the court’s decision to acquit Eric Chia, the former managing director of Malaysia’s top steel company, Perwaja, and a close associate of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, said the spokesman, who declined to be named citing the attorney general chambers’ policy.
On Tuesday, Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court Judge Akhtar Tahir ruled that government prosecutors failed to mount sufficient evidence against Chia, saying they had “crippled” the case by presenting inconsistent arguments and not calling essential witnesses.
Tan Sri Eric Chia’s acquittal yesterday offers yet another stark reminder that since coming to power in 2003 Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s anti-corruption drive has been an utter failure.
The Court’s determination that the prosecution failed to present a compelling case against the former Perwaja chief is wholly unsatisfactory. At the same time, the quality of investigation over this serious scandal has also been disappointing.
On the contrary, I have adduced substantive facts as evidence of corruption and malfeasance based on audit reports issued by Price Waterhouse Coopers. These documents implicate Chia in a wide range of illegal activities ranging from misappropriation of funds to the payment of exorbitant and unsubstantiated fees to Datuk VK Lingam’s law firm.
Given the unreliable conduct of Malaysia’s judicial system it was no stretch of the imagination to predict, as I did in 2004, that the trial would end in acquittal after many meaningless hours of theatrics. Where evidence of corruption was clear and incontrovertible the Attorney General systematically suppressed it, a sin for which both he and the Chief of the Anti Corruption Agency should immediately tender their resignations or face immediate investigations.
On the eve of what many believe will be early elections, the Malaysian people should be clear in their understanding of the current government’s aims and intentions. Corruption remains the preferred style of doing business, and talk of anti-corruption is merely a banner to be waved at press conferences and political rallies but conveniently ignored when one of its own is brought to task.
In the meantime, we can expect the billions of stolen ringgit from Perwaja, Transmile and other Enron-like scandals, money that should be allocated towards poverty alleviation, education, and healthcare, will stay in the pockets of the corrupt and crooked who rule this land.
ANWAR IBRAHIM
JUne 27, 2007
Associated Press
June 27, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A former businessman indicted in connection with one of Malaysia’s biggest financial scandals was acquitted of corruption charges yesterday when the judge ruled that prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence against him.
Eric Chia Eng Hock, who had close ties to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government in the 1990s, is one of the few high-profile figures to have been charged for graft since Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became premier in October 2003 and pledged to fix Malaysia’s reputation for corruption and cronyism.
June 26, 2007
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
Police in the Sibu district in Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the Borneo island, have introduced restrictions on media coverage of crime stories, threatening journalists with arrest should they breach the new rules.
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BBC News
June 26, 2007
A high-profile corruption case in Malaysia has ended with a top businessmen going free after a court dismissed charges against him.
Eric Chia, the former head of state firm Perwaja Steel, was accused of approving fraudulent payments to a fictitious company in the 1990s.
But the court said the prosecution had failed to prove its case.
The verdict is a setback to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s anti-corruption campaign.
Cargonews Asia
June 20, 2007
Malaysian stock exchange chief executive Yusli Mohamed Yusoff has vowed to take action against Transmile if the scandal-hit airline is found to have breached bourse reglations.
“We are monitoring the situation very closely and we will take whatever action is necessary if there has been any wrongdoing,” Yusli said in Kuala Lumpur this morning.
Shares in Transmile, which is controlled by Hong Kong-based billionaire businessman Robert Kuok, have lost a quarter of their market value since Malaysia’s securities regulator launched a probe into false financial statements.
Auditors Moores Rowland Risk Management uncovered fictitious invoices and payments that were not supported by payment vouchers.
Transmile posted a pre-tax loss of US$49.7 million instead of a profit of $59.8 million in financial year 2006 and a pre-tax loss of $19.3 million in 2005 instead of a profit of $34.6 million, the audit showed.
It also reported a smaller pre-tax profit of $2.3 million for 2004 financial year than the $25.1 million previously announced.
Transmile had said in May that an interim report from a special audit had found its revenue for 2006 and 2005 could have been overstated by 30 percent and 36 percent, respectively.
Transmile’s market value has halved from a year ago after it announced irregularities in its financial accounts.
The Star
June 13, 2007
PETALING JAYA: The entire audit committee of Transmile Group Bhd, which is involved in an accounting probe, resigned yesterday.
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, Transmile said audit committee chairman Chin Keem Feung, and two members – Shukri Sheikh Abdul Tawab and Khiudin Mohd @ Bidin – had resigned from their posts held in the group.
The trio, who comprised one-third of Transmile’s board, also relinquished their directorships.
Chin and Shukri were independent directors, while Khiudin, a substantial shareholder, was executive director.
Transmile has appointed Soh Chin Tek, a former auditor of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Kuala Lumpur office, to be a member of the audit committee and an independent director.
Soh was general manager of the insulation division in CSR Building Materials (M) Sdn Bhd before he joined Transmile.
After the latest changes, the Transmile board consists of chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, chief executive officer Gan Boon Aun, executive director Lee Chin Guan, plus three non-independent and non-executive directors – Kuok Khoon Ho, Tan Sri A. Razak Ramli and Datuk Abu Huraira Abu Yazid.
Gan and the group’s chief financial controller, Lok Chok Ping, are believed to be currently on leave.
The board last month started a special audit on the chartered freight services provider, in which tycoon Robert Kuok holds a stake.
The interim findings show that the group’s revenue may have been overstated by RM530mil in total for financial years 2005 and 2006
Asia Sentinel
June 3, 2007
With the prosecution team abruptly changing hands Monday, a Malaysian High Court judge has granted a two-week postponement of the politically-charged trial of three defendants for the gruesome murder last October of a 28-year-old Mongolian beauty.
Adding to the confusion, Zulkifli Noordi, a defense attorney for one of the policemen charged in the case, quit, saying there were “serious attempts by third parties to interfere with the defence I proposed.” He didn’t elaborate, but said the interference would compromise his ability to act in the case.
Judge Mohd Zaki Md Yasin granted the postponement although no reason was given for the sudden change in prosecution teams. The new lead prosecutor, Majid Tun Hamzah, told the court he had only been notified of his new responsibility last night as he was on his way home. Majid asked for a month to prepare for the trial but the judge gave him only two weeks because of the problem the postponement posed for foreign witnesses. The trial is now due to start on June 18.
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