Oct 12 to review Lim, Phang’s acquittal

GEORGE TOWN: The High Court here yesterday fixed Oct 12 to hear a review of its decision to acquit and discharge former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng and businesswoman Phang Li Koon over their corruption charges.

Judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail fixed the date after the complainant in the case, Muhsin Abdul Latheef, informed the court that his lawyer, Gunamalar Joorindanjn, whom he appointed on Monday, could not make it yesterday as she had a pending court case.

Hadhariah said she, too, had just received a letter from Muhsin’s lawyer on Monday seeking a postponement, but no date for the next hearing was given.

Muhsin passed the court another letter from his lawyer, stating that she would be available from Oct 9 onwards.

“I personally do not agree to postpone the matter because I can easily dispose of it in five minutes.

“In fact, I want to dispose of this application. What is there?

“But if I just dispose of the case, it will become an issue.

“There will be accusation that the court is not giving the complainant a chance to proceed with the matter.

“The court will always be blamed,” said Hadhariah.

She told Muhsin that the matter would proceed with or without his lawyer’s presence on Oct 12.

Earlier, Phang’s lawyer, Datuk V. Sithambaram, said he, too, received a letter from Muhsin’s lawyer on the postponement.

“It is up to the court to decide. Before we go further (in choosing the next available date), the court has to decide whether to allow the review application to be heard,” he said.

He said the first respondent, represented by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Ghazali Muhamad Nadzri, had also filed for a preliminary objection.

Lim’s lawyer, Ramkarpal Singh, said they were prepared to go ahead with the matter.

Muhsin had filed for a review of the High Court’s decision to discharge and acquit Lim and Phang on Sept 19.

In his application, he said the court should replace its order to that of a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

Muhsin’s application for review was done on the ground that the deputy public prosecutor’s orders to stop the trial were invalid as Lim had a close relationship with the attorney-general, resulting in a conflict of interest.”

The High Court had, on Sept 3, granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal on Lim and Phang over their corruption charges two years ago.

This followed an application made by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Masri Mohd Daud to the court, based on a representation sent by the defence to the attorney-general to withdraw the case on July 6.

Masri had applied for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

Ramkarpal and Sithambaram had requested a full acquittal.

Hadhariah, in her judgment, had agreed with the counsels that the charges “cannot be hanging over the head of the accused indefinitely ”. She had said that there must be finality.

Ramkarpal said he and Sitthambaram would support the deputy public prosecutor’s application for a preliminary objection of Muhsin’s application filed a few days ago.

Muhsin said he was satisfied with the court’s decision.

“I appointed a lawyer on Monday due to financial constraints. The lawyer told me she could not attend as she has another matter to hear. All in all, it costs me RM20,000, and I am trying to raise the cost.”