Sodomy II: Anwar can call Najib, Rosmah subject to their consent

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 — The High Court has allowed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s applications to call 15 key witnesses in his sodomy trial, including the prime minister and his wife, on the condition that they agree to be interviewed.Judge Datuk Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah said today it was the prosecution’s responsibility to provide witnesses as the defence has the right to interview them but stressed that it was up to the witnesses whether they agreed to be interviewed.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor have said they will skip interviews for Anwar’s sodomy trial unless subpoenaed.

 

Najib and Rosmah, along with former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and former Malacca police chief Datuk Mohd Rodhwan Mohd Yusof, are four key witnesses expected to snub the trial unless compelled to appear.Interviews are usually conducted to determine whether a witness will be called to testify in a trial.It is also understood that another witness, Hasanuddin Abdul Hamid, said he will only agree to be interviewed if his lawyer was present.

PKA Was In Deficit And Could Not Afford Land For PKFZ, High Court Told

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Port Klang Authority (PKA) had no financial standing to purchase the 830 acres of land in Mukim Klang for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project, the High Court here was told on Thursday.Former Ministry of Transport deputy secretary-general (Planning) Abdul Rahman Mohd Noor, 61, said the Ministry had suggested acquiring the land and leasing it to PKA as the authority's finances were unstable."PKA could not afford the land as it lacked funds and if it had gone ahead, its financial situation would have deteriorated," Abdul Rahman told Deputy Public Prosecutor Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah during examination-in-chief.

Thumbs up to EC's proposal to allow M'sians abroad to vote

The Election Commission's (EC) proposal to study the possibility of allowing Malaysians abroad to vote in the next general election has received positive reaction.Several Malaysian students and workers overseas said that the proposal, if implemented, would enable them to discharge their duties, as Malaysian citizens, to vote and choose the government as stipulated in the federal constitution.However, they stressed that it should be implemented properly to ensure that it would not be manipulated by any party.

 

A student of University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, Anita Adnan, 39, said all processes should be carried out in an honest and transparent manner.The final year doctoral student said the problem in handling scattered voting was that it might be possible to manipulate the ballot box and even the number of votes."It has to be carried out systematically and carefully controlled. Otherwise, let's not bother," she told Bernama when contacted through her social website.

Dr M to testify at Dr Ling’s trial

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will be called as a witness at the trial of former transport minister Dr Ling Liong Sik in the RM1.08 billion cheating case relating to the Port Klang Free Trade Zone (PKFZ).The issue of calling Mahathir to testify came up after deputy public prosecutor Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah who is leading the prosecution team, questioned second witness Sahari Mahadi on a letter dated June 29, 2002, written by Ling to Mahathir, the prime minister at that time.After the question was posted to Sahari, former director of the Shah Alam Valuation and Property Services Department (VPSD), Tun Abd Majid told judge Ahmadi Asnawi who presided over the trial that the prosecution would call the former prime minister as a witness relating to the letter.

Sarbaini's death 'accidental', says pathologist

The forensic pathologist who did the initial autopsy on the body of Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamad concluded that his death was caused by an “accidental fall from height”.“I find his fall to have been accidental as there were no signs of homicidal or suicidal tendencies,” Dr Faridah Mohd Noor of UKM Hospital's forensics department said on the eleventh day of the inquest into the customs officer's death.She explained to presiding coroner Aizatul Akmal Maharahi, that there were neither defensive wounds on the former Selangor Customs Department assistant director, nor any signs of a struggle to signify it was a homicide.

Suicide was also ruled out as there was no suicide note, hesitation wounds (incisions into the skin indicating attempted suicide), or the presence of alcohol or drugs in the bloodstream of the deceased.The actual cause of death, explained the doctor, was from massive injuries to the head and what she referred to as positional asphyxia, or choking due to an obstruction to the nose and mouth or nose because a person was put into an uncomfortable position.She said her cursory examination on the scene found that copious amounts of blood had flowed out of Sarbaini's nose, mouth, eyes and left ear, indicative of massive trauma to the head.

Land Valuation By KDSB Was Higher, Says Witness

KUALA LUMPUR -- A witness in the trial involving former Transport Minister Dr Ling Liong Sik told the High Court here on Monday that the land valuation made by a representative from Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) was higher than hers.Former assistant director of valuation, Valuation and Property Services Department (VPSD), Ministry of Finance, Teo Lee Lee, said that KDSB, through Azmi & Company, set the value at RM29 per sq ft for a 830 acre site in the mukim of Klang.

She said her valuation for land with basic infrastructure, like road, was RM17 per sq ft and RM13 per sq ft if it did not have such a facility."I used to go to this area, only 500 acres of the swamp area had been filled," said the retiree.Teo is the first prosecution witness to testify in the trial of Dr Ling who is charged with cheating the Malaysian government by deliberately concealing from the Cabinet the additional interest rate of 7.5 per cent a year on the purchase price of a piece of land based on RM25 per sq ft, which was RM1,088,456,000, when he knew that the VPSD had taken into account the coupon/interest rate when the rate was fixed.

Liong Sik's PKFZ trial begins today

The RM1.08-billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) corruption trial involving former transport minister Dr Ling Liong Sik began in the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.The trial is being heard before High Court Judge Ahmadi Asnawi and it is expected to hear the testimonies of 40 witnesses.

Ling was charged on July 29 last year of cheating the government of Malaysia by misleading the Cabinet on a land acquisition for the mega-distribution hub project in Port Klang.Ling is alleged to have deceived the cabinet into agreeing to the terms of purchase between Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) and Port Klang Authority (PKA) and giving its approval for the purchase.

He is said to have committed the deception with the knowledge that it could cause wrongful losses to the government and despite being bound by a fiduciary duty to protect the government.The charge, under Section 418 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment or fine or both upon conviction.Ling faces an alternative charge of similar cheating for deliberately concealing facts related to the project from the cabinet.

The charge, under Section 417 of the Penal Code, is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years or fine or both upon conviction.Ling is alleged to have committed the offences between Sept 25, 2002, and Nov 6, 2002 at the fourth floor of the Prime Minister's Office at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya.Ling has pleaded not guilty to both counts.Deputy Public Prosecutors Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah and Manoj Kurup are appearing for the prosecution while Ling is represented by counsel Wong Kian Kheong.