Dates set for CM’s trial
MARCH TO JULY: 34 days sufficient to call in 60 witnesses, says High Court judge
THE High Court here has fixed 34 days between March and July next year for the trial of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on corruption charges.
Judge Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail said the trial dates were chosen to allow sufficient time for the 60 witnesses to be called in, as requested by the prosecution and defence counsels.
She said the dates were March 27 to March 31, April 10 to April 14, April 24 to April 28, May 15 to May 19, May 29 to June 2, June 13 to June 16 and July 17 to July 21.
She told the prosecution and defence teams that the trial would not be postponed.
“I have found that the documents are incomplete.
“I hope the prosecution can get the 13,000-page documents by Jan 6, especially if they want to expedite the trial,” she said.
On June 30, Lim claimed trial to two counts of corruption.
He is alleged to have used his position as a civil servant to obtain gratification for him and his wife by approving an application by Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd to convert agricultural land into residential land while chairing a state Planning Committee meeting on July 18, 2014.
He was also charged with using his position to buy a house from businesswoman Phang Li Koon at RM2.8 million, which was below the property’s market value of RM4.27 million, on July 28 last year.
Phang claimed trial to abetment. Deputy public prosecutor Masri Mohamed Daud, who led the prosecution team, had asked for more time as there were issues with the court documents, which had been recently indexed.
Hadhariah ordered the prosecution and defence teams to submit a list of agreed facts and issues to be tried by Jan 6.
She advised the defence counsels to be ready with their defence statements by Jan 6.
Gobind Singh Deo led Lim’s defence team, while Datuk V. Sithambaram led Phang’s defence team.
When met outside the court, Gobind said problems with the documents were mostly about poor-quality copies.
Earlier, a group, which claimed to be chief minister-designate Chow Kon Yeow’s supporters, staged a protest outside the High Court building, urging Chow to “save” Penang from a slew of issues.
They urged Lim to go back to Malacca.
Lim was Kota Melaka member of parliament from 1986 to 1998.
The group chanted “Undur Guan Eng” (Step down, Guan Eng), “Guan Eng dari Melaka” (Guan Eng is from Malacca) and “Hidup YB Chow” (Long live YB Chow).
They also expressed their displeasure via banners.
Led by Mamu Parpu Supporters Club chairman Muhsin Latheef, they urged Chow to take over from Lim if the latter could not resolve some of the issues plaguing the state, such as the flooding and lowcost housing problems.
“Lim is my No. 1 beloved chief minister. But, if he cannot solve the people’s problems, he should relinquish his post and migrate elsewhere.
“We want Chow to take over and save Penang. We believe that with him (Chow) helming the state, it will give a new ray of light to Penang,” said Muhsin, adding that Chow knew local issues better as he had been staying in Penang for more than two decades.