Ex-deputy director’s applications dismissed

KOTA KINABALU: The High Court here yesterday dismissed three applications filed by a former Sabah State Water Department deputy director on three issues related to his money laundering charges.

In her reserved decision, Justice Datuk Nurchaya Hj Arshad dismissed Teo Chee Kong’s first application to quash his 146 charges as she found that there was no merit in the criminal application.

The judge ordered for the trial to proceed expeditiously.

Her decision was delivered by High Court deputy registrar Dana Arabi Wazani in her chambers.

The court also dismissed the 52-year-old’s second and third applications against the joint trial order by the Sessions Court here and to recuse the presiding judge from hearing his trial on the grounds that there was no real likelihood of danger, in the sense of a real possibility of bias on the part of the Sessions Court judge.

She explained that there was no issue of different evidence or witnesses involved.

Teo had filed the three revisions through his counsel Roland Cheng, Ram Singh and Nelson W. Angang to revise the decisions made by the Corruption Court here.

On January 30, the Corruption Court here had dismissed two applications by Teo to have the judge recuse himself from hearing his case and Teo’s objection to be jointly tried with an ex-director of the same department, Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib and two others with his cases.

Ag Tahir, Fauziah Piut, 52, and another former deputy director before Teo, Lim Lam Beng @ Lim Chee Hong, 63, are facing separate money laundering charges.

However, Nurchaya allowed Teo’s fourth application to have several documents and footage of CCTV recordings from the prosecution during his investigation period as well as during his arrest until his release.

She made an order for the respondent (the prosecution) in this case to produce all these items before the trial of the applicant.

Teo made a criminal revision against an order issued by the same Corruption Court on February 9, which had dismissed his application to get all the requested items.

Teo was accused of possessing 70 pieces of lands and cash allegedly obtained from illegal activities.

All his charges were framed under Sections 4 (1) (a) and 4 (1) (b), both of the AntiMoney Laundering and AntiTerrorism Financing Act 2001 and Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.

The first 78 charges accused Teo of possessing the lands obtained from illegal activities through 78 transactions of transferring ownership worth RM12,705,203.70.

The other 68 counts accused Teo of possessing cash amounting to RM7,930,810.48 (5,952,050 of Malaysian Ringgit and RM1,978,760.48 from foreign currency) and also cash of RM12,287,240.07 at financial institutions.

The charges stated that Teo had committed the alleged offences at separate locations at land district offices and bank branches here, in Penampang and Beaufort between 2005 and 2016.

During his first arraignment in December, 2017, the court released Teo on RM1.5 million bail with RM500,000 to be deposited with two local sureties.

The court also ordered for Teo’s passport to be impounded and kept by the court, pending disposal of the cases and to report every Saturday to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC’s) office between 8am and 8pm.

Deputy public prosecutor Tengku Amir Zaki Tengku Hj Abd Rahman acted for the respondent.