The Putrajaya Sessions Court has transferred former transport minister Chan Kong Choy's cheating case to the Kuala Lumpur High Court.Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Nordin Hassan sought the transfer under Section 418A (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
Chan, 55, who served in the position from 2003 to 2008 in former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's cabinet, was charged with cheating the latter over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) multi-billion ringgit fiasco. Judge Azhaniz Ateh Azman allowed the prosecution's application for transfer but asked Chan's lawyer, Tan Hock Chuan for his views on the stay application the defence had applied for last month.
Chan wanted to a stay to his case, pending disposal of former transport minister Dr Ling Liong Sik's ongoing cheating trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court. "We have the option of filing a fresh application of stay in the High Court," said Tan, agreeing to deal with the matter at there.
However, the defence counsel requested to have the mention date fixed some time in October as he will travelling abroad this month.Azhaniz agreed to their requests, saying that the dates would be fixed by the High Court's deputy registrar, and also struck out Chan's stay application at the Sessions Court "with the liberty to file afresh" at the higher court.
Outside the courtroom, Nordin told reporters that the prosecution had pursued the transfer at the request of the defence to the Attorney-General's (AG) Chambers.
The billion ringgit debacle
On Feb 28, Chan pleaded not guilty to three counts of deceiving Abdullah into approving Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) as the turnkey developer to carry out development of the mega transhipment hub project at the Pulau Indah and renovation works at the PKFZ site between 2004 and 2006.
Chan is accused of committing the offence at the fourth floor of the main block of the former prime minister's office at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya. He faces a jail term of five years or a fine, or both on each of the three charges under Section 417 of the Penal Code, if convicted.
Chan is the second VVIP charged in connection with the project, which has been plagued by massive cost overruns and according to an audit report, could potentially cost taxpayers a mind blowing RM12.5 billion.
On July 29 last year, Chan's predecessor Ling, who held the post of transport minister for 14 years from January 1986 to May 2000, was charged with committing deception knowing that it could cause wrongful losses to the government despite being bound by the fiduciary duty to protect the adminstration.
Four others prominent figures, including former PKFZ general-manager Phang Oi Choo @ Phang Ai Tu, better known as OC Phang, have been charged with various offences for their alleged involvement in the project.Phang's case was also adjourned until the disposal of Ling's on the grounds that it would be prejudicial to the latter's ongoing trial.
In December last year, Phang was charged with criminal breach of trust involving RM254.85 million in the PKFZ debacle, along with PKFZ turnkey contractor KDSB's chief operating officer Stephen Abok and architect Bernard Tan Seng Swee of BTA Architect with criminal breach of trust and cheating amounting to about RM380 million.
Also charged was former KDSB project director Law Jenn Dong, for allegedly making 24 fraudulent claims for a total sum of RM116.85 million.
Chan, 55, who served in the position from 2003 to 2008 in former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's cabinet, was charged with cheating the latter over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) multi-billion ringgit fiasco. Judge Azhaniz Ateh Azman allowed the prosecution's application for transfer but asked Chan's lawyer, Tan Hock Chuan for his views on the stay application the defence had applied for last month.
Chan wanted to a stay to his case, pending disposal of former transport minister Dr Ling Liong Sik's ongoing cheating trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court. "We have the option of filing a fresh application of stay in the High Court," said Tan, agreeing to deal with the matter at there.
However, the defence counsel requested to have the mention date fixed some time in October as he will travelling abroad this month.Azhaniz agreed to their requests, saying that the dates would be fixed by the High Court's deputy registrar, and also struck out Chan's stay application at the Sessions Court "with the liberty to file afresh" at the higher court.
Outside the courtroom, Nordin told reporters that the prosecution had pursued the transfer at the request of the defence to the Attorney-General's (AG) Chambers.
The billion ringgit debacle
On Feb 28, Chan pleaded not guilty to three counts of deceiving Abdullah into approving Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) as the turnkey developer to carry out development of the mega transhipment hub project at the Pulau Indah and renovation works at the PKFZ site between 2004 and 2006.
Chan is accused of committing the offence at the fourth floor of the main block of the former prime minister's office at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya. He faces a jail term of five years or a fine, or both on each of the three charges under Section 417 of the Penal Code, if convicted.
Chan is the second VVIP charged in connection with the project, which has been plagued by massive cost overruns and according to an audit report, could potentially cost taxpayers a mind blowing RM12.5 billion.
On July 29 last year, Chan's predecessor Ling, who held the post of transport minister for 14 years from January 1986 to May 2000, was charged with committing deception knowing that it could cause wrongful losses to the government despite being bound by the fiduciary duty to protect the adminstration.
Four others prominent figures, including former PKFZ general-manager Phang Oi Choo @ Phang Ai Tu, better known as OC Phang, have been charged with various offences for their alleged involvement in the project.Phang's case was also adjourned until the disposal of Ling's on the grounds that it would be prejudicial to the latter's ongoing trial.
In December last year, Phang was charged with criminal breach of trust involving RM254.85 million in the PKFZ debacle, along with PKFZ turnkey contractor KDSB's chief operating officer Stephen Abok and architect Bernard Tan Seng Swee of BTA Architect with criminal breach of trust and cheating amounting to about RM380 million.
Also charged was former KDSB project director Law Jenn Dong, for allegedly making 24 fraudulent claims for a total sum of RM116.85 million.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/175869
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