KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 28): The defence on Monday grilled a prosecution witness on inconsistencies between witness statements and testimonies in Lim Guan Eng's Penang undersea tunnel corruption trial with those in a related case.
Lim's lawyer, Ramkarpal Singh, had pointed out that Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) director Ibrahim Sahari had testified in the cheating trial of businessman Datuk Seri G Gnanaraja that the company had issued a cheque for RM2 million on Aug 17, 2017, to pay former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Ramkarpal noted that both the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigating officer, Zulhilmi Ramli and former CZCSB director and vice-president Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli said the money was for Lim.
The lawyer also compared Ibrahim’s witness testimony with that of the MACC investigator and Zarul Ahmad’s recorded statement with the MACC in Gnanaraja’s case.
Zulhilmi said he was not the investigating officer in Gnanaraja’s case and at times appeared evasive when pressed by Ramkarpal, who then requested that judge Azura Alwi take action against the MACC officer.
The witness later agreed with the inconsistencies but said he was unsure why this was so. Zulhilmi stressed on the fact that he was not the investigator in Gnanaraja’s case.
The issue stems from RM19 million Zarul Ahmad allegedly paid Gnanaraja in 2017: RM15 to resolve a purported MACC money laundering investigation and another RM4 million in two batches.
The last RM2 million was allegedly paid on Aug 17, 2017, with Ibrahim saying it was to for Najib, while Zarul Ahmad and Zulhilmi said that it was for Lim.
Ramkarpal: In the course of your investigation, do you know about the RM15 million payment made?
Zulhilmi: Yes, I was informed by IO (Ng Heng Jun, who investigated Gnanaraja)
Ramkarpal: The matter cropped up in Ng’s investigation?
Zulhilmi: I am not sure if the issue cropped up as I am not the IO in Gnanaraja’s case.
Ramkarpal: Did Ng informed you about the background of the RM15 million and other payments made?
Zulhilmi: I cannot remember.
Ramkarpal: Do you want to refresh your memory?
Zulhilmi: No need.
Gnanaraja was initially charged with cheating Zarul Ahmad of the RM19 million at the Shah Alam High Court in 2019. However, Gnanaraja pleaded guilty to an alternative charge under the Companies Act 2016 in 2020, and was fined RM230,000.
Letter of demand to Gnanaraja
When asked by Ramkarpal whether he had recorded a statement from Gnanaraja, Zulhilmi said he did, but was uncertain whether he had investigated the RM15 million or the other funds paid to Gnanaraja.
Ramkarpal: Isn’t this important in your investigation?
Zulhilmi: I do not know.
Ramkarpal: Do you know that Zarul Ahmad had asked his lawyer to file a notice of demand to Gnanaraja?
Zulhimi: I do not know
Ramkarpal: Zarul Ahmad had asked his lawyer from Messrs Shahrul Hamidi and Noh to issue a notice of demand on Gnanaraja over this?
Zulhilmi: Yes.
When Ramkarpal queried the MACC investigator about the contents of the notice, and even pointing to the sum withdrawn by CZCSB on Aug 17, 2017, the witness seemed evasive.
This resulted in Ramkarpal requesting from Azura that the court record Zulhilmi's demeanour as not honest and evasive.
“I want to bring the court’s attention to the provision under the Criminal Procedure Code over this IO’s conduct,” Ramkarpal said.
Zulhilmi then changed his tone and seemed willing to answer.
Ramkarpal: The RM2 million from the cheque, as mentioned by Ibrahim in Shah Alam, is to be given to Najib?
Zulhilmi: Yes, based on (Ibrahim’s) statement.
When queried by Ramkarpal, Zulhilmi agreed that Ng recorded Zarul Ahmad's statement as saying that the money was for Najib.
However, Zulhilmi insisted that the RM2 million went to Lim despite Ramkarpal pointing out Ibrahim’s testimony and Zarul Ahmad's statement that it was for Najib.
Zulhilmi said Zarul Ahmad’s initial statement did say the money was for Najib, but he recorded the businessman as saying the RM2 million was paid to Gnanaraja to be paid to Lim.
Zarul Ahmad also said this in his testimony in Lim’s trial.
Zulhilmi, who is the 38th prosecution witness, reiterated that he did not investigate Gnanaraja.
Ramkarpal then grilled Zulhilmi on whether he had found a safe in Zarul Ahmad’s CZCSB office at Faber Towers in Kuala Lumpur, from which the cash was retrieved to allegedly pay Lim.
Zulhilmi admitted that he did not go to Zarul Ahmad’s office to inspect whether there was a safe, as claimed by the former CZCSB director.
Ng had also testified last year that he did not inspect whether there was a safe at Zarul Ahmad’s office.
Lim is on trial for using his position as the then Penang chief minister to solicit from Zarul Ahmad a 10% cut in profits from the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project, in return for aiding Zarul Ahmad's company to secure the project.
The Bagan member of parliament also faces two counts of dishonest misappropriation of property in releasing two plots of state-owned land, cumulatively worth RM208.75 million, to Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd and Zenith Urban Development Sdn Bhd — two property companies linked to the controversial undersea tunnel project.
The trial will resume on Oct 27 for three days.
The prosecution is led by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharudin Wan Ladin.