Simultaneous raid on offices related to Gatco controversy
KUALA LUMPUR: Several offices related to Great Alonioners Trading Corporation Bhd (Gatco) were raided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Petaling Jaya yesterday.
Among those raided were the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW) office in Jalan Gasing, Thamarai Holdings Sdn Bhd in Jalan Utara, audit firm Singam & Yong and a lawyer’s office at Plaza Pengkalan in Jalan Tiong. They were all raided simultaneously.
MACC officers also went to an office on the fourth floor of Wisma Negeri in Seremban at 11am.
The officers spent several hours gathering evidence at those premises.
At Plaza Pengkalan, the officers were seen leaving 1½ hours later with a box and laptop bag. It was uncertain what the box or bag contained.
The probe was initiated following an allegation by a group of estate settlers, who claimed that they had been cheated out of a piece of land they were promised in Kampung Gatco, Negri Sembilan, about 13 years ago.
The settlers claimed that they were supposed to get a house built on a 0.4ha plot of land each as well as a 3.2ha plot to grow sugarcane, but the plan did not materialise after the corporation went bankrupt.
It was reported that MACC had set up a special task force to investigate the claims, and the raids were apparently connected to the investigation.
In Putrajaya, Selangor Menteri Besar’s Office strategic communications director Yin Shao Loong went to the MACC headquarters yesterday after being summoned.
MACC director (investigation), Datuk Simi Abd Ghani, when contacted by Bernama, confirmed that the commission had recorded his statement.
Yin arrived at the MACC office in Precinct 7 at 9.30am and left about 3.50pm.
Yin said he was questioned about a statement he made in response to a raid conducted by MACC at Universiti Selangor (Unisel) and the office of Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) on Aug 22.
Yin was reported to have issued a statement expressing the state government’s regret over the raid conducted by MACC, and said it was a pre-planned action to tarnish the image of the Selangor government.