KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): The prosecution told the Sessions Court during Bagan Member of Parliament Lim Guan Eng’s Penang undersea tunnel trial on Tuesday that they will not request witness protection for businessman Datuk Seri G Gnanaraja despite the recent robbery at his home.

Lead deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Laden told judge Azura Alwi that the prosecution would not seek witness protection for Gnanaraja. This came after the former Penang chief minister’s lawyers asked for clarification on Wan Shaharuddin’s earlier media statements suggesting it might happen.

The defence — lawyers Ram Karpal Singh, RSN Rayer, and Mohd Haijan Omar — argued that Wan Shaharuddin’s comments about the robbery, which happened early morning on Aug 6 at Gnanaraja’s Petaling Jaya home, unfairly implied Lim was connected to the incident, which could prejudice the trial.

Ram Karpal and Rayer also debated with Wan Shaharuddin for nearly an hour, saying they may seek to have him removed from the case due to concerns about his impartiality.

They referred to media reports quoting Wan Shaharuddin saying he might request witness protection for Gnanaraja and that he planned to speak to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Tan Sri Azam Baki.

Several media outlets quoted Wan Shaharuddin saying there was a "99% chance" of convicting Lim. He denied making that statement, claiming he was misquoted.

Ram Karpal and Rayer argued that the DPP’s statements unfairly implicated Lim and made it seem like he was being blamed for the attack, which was not true and could prejudice the trial.

“This follows the Petaling Jaya police and also the Petaling Jaya OCPD had denied the attack and robbery had anything to do with this (graft) case. How can the DPP issue a statement in describing the attack and witness protection,” Ram Karpal and Rayer questioned.

“He (Wan Shaharuddin) cannot deny saying this. The defence wants the DPP to retract his statement made to the press, or otherwise, we would consider filing an application to recuse him,” they said.

Wan Shaharuddin claimed that his comments in some of the reports were taken out of context, and he was not willing to withdraw the statements made.

“If the defence wants me recused, they should properly file an application to this effect, and then we will file to challenge it. If not, the prosecution wants to proceed with this trial,” he said.

Ram Karpal responded that when Lim made a statement outside court, the prosecution wanted to take action. He said the same should apply to the prosecution for making irresponsible comments during an ongoing trial.

After the exchange, Azura asked the defence whether they wanted to file a formal application to recuse Wan Shaharuddin. After a short recess, Ram Karpal told the court that they would not file a proper application to seek Wan Shaharuddin’s recusal.

Ram Karpal added that police confirmed Lim was not involved in the robbery, and there is no connection between him and the incident involving Gnanaraja.

“Let this trial proceed as this has continued for five years. The defence would not make the application,” he informed Azura.

Gnanaraja was called to testify but told the court he was not fit to do so. Azura then set the trial to continue on Aug 27 and 28.

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