Articles pertaining to RM9.5 mln based on press statement from Muhammad Shafee, reporter tells court

The journalist from the Malay Mail, Lim Lee Ting, 32, said the statement entitled 'Press Statement of Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah Pertaining to the RM9.5 million' was received on Sept 8, 2018, from Muhammad Shafee's son Muhammad Farhan, who is also the former's lawyer, and was subsequently processed into four news articles.

According to Lim, the four news stories written based on the media statement were reviewed and published on the Malay Mail website on the same day (Sept 8, 2018).

"All the news reports, among others, stated that Muhammad Shafee claimed that he had received RM9.5 million from Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, not as payment for the prosecution's case against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, but for legal fees related to 46 election petitions involving Barisan Nasional (BN) and UMNO for 2004 and 2006.

"One of the news reports from the processed media statement contained allegations that Tan Sri Shafee had been investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the issue of the RM9.5 million payment," she said.

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The third prosecution witness said this when reading her witness statement on the second day of the trial of Muhammad Shafee, who was charged with receiving RM9.5 million in proceeds from illegal activities from Najib, and two counts of making false statements to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).

Lim said she had received the six-page media statement attributed to Muhammad Shafee's lawyer, dated Sept 8, 2018, in PDF format via the Whatsapp application.

"I then sent the 15-paragraph media statement to the editor because I knew Muhammad Farhan was a reliable source as the son of Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee," she said.

During the examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Natasha Chin Le Jy, Lim also confirmed that she herself prepared the four news articles based on the media statement she received from Muhammad Farhan.

Lim said a few days later, she learned from a news report written by her colleague that Muhammad Shafee had been charged in court over the RM9.5 million issue.

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"On Oct 23, 2018, I was contacted by the MACC to confirm the media statement I received from Muhammad Farhan and a meeting was arranged with the case's investigating officer, Mohamad Farid Jabar at the Malay Mail office seven days later (Oct 30).

"I was asked to compare and confirm the media statement I received (from Muhammad Farhan) with the media statement shown by the MACC. I found that, apart from the different number of pages, the contents of these two media statements were mostly the same, " she said.

Answering a question from lawyer Harvinderjit Singh who represented Muhammad Shafee, Lim said prior to Oct 23, 2018, she had never been contacted by any MACC officer to record a statement regarding the news she had written.

On Sept 13, 2018, Muhammad Shafee pleaded not guilty to two charges of receiving money derived from illegal activities amounting to RM9.5 million through two cheques issued by Najib which were deposited into his CIMB Bank Berhad account.

He is alleged to have received a cheque for RM4.3 million on Sept 13, 2013, and another for RM5.2 million on Feb 17, 2014.

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Muhammad Shafee also faces two charges of engaging in transactions resulting from illegal activities, namely submitting incorrect tax returns, and in violation of paragraph 113 (1) (a) of the Income Tax Act 1967 for the financial years ended Dec 31, 2013, and Dec 31, 2014.

The accused was charged with committing the offence at LHDN's Jalan Duta branch at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim here on March 3, 2015, and June 29, 2015, and faces a maximum jail sentence of 15 years and a fine of five times the total of the proceeds from illegal activities.

The trial before Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin continues on June 4.