Former Sabah Water director, wife charged with laundering RM61.48 mil

A former Sabah Water Department director, his wife and a Sabah Finance Ministry technical and engineering advisor pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court today to a total of 37 counts of money laundering involving cash and bank savings of RM61.48 million, as well as unlawful possession of luxury goods.

The former director, Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib, 54, pleaded not guilty to eight counts of possessing RM56.9 million in cash and in four bank accounts, two charges for unlawful possession of six luxury vehicles and one charge of unlawful possession of 86 branded wrist watches.

He also pleaded not guilty with his wife, Fauziah Piut, 51, to two counts of unlawful possession of jewellery, while Fauziah claimed trial to 19 counts of unlawful possession of jewellery and luxury bags as well as a total of RM2.2 million in various bank accounts.

The third accused, Sabah Finance Ministry technical and engineering advisor Lim Lam Peng, 62, who has been suspended from the post, was charged with unlawful possession of a vehicle and three counts of possessing a total of RM2.38 million in cash.

They were charged under Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.

Judge Ummu Kalthum Abdul Samad allowed Ag Mohd Tahir, Fauziah and Lim bail of RM10 million, RM2 million and RM1 million in two local sureties, respectively.

They were also ordered to surrender their travel documents to the court.

Earlier, lawyer Hairul Vaiyron Othman, representing Ag Mohd Tahir and Fauziah, and lawyer Chin Teck Ming, who represented Lim, objected to the bail amount requested by the prosecution, saying their clients had yet to be proven guilty.

Hairul Vaiyron also told the court that his clients had three children, one of them studying abroad, and they were financially dependent on their parents.

Ummu Kalthum set Feb 28 next year for case management.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutors from MACC, comprising Husmaruddin Hussin, Farez Rahman, Anas Mahathir, Rozanna Abd Hadi and Rustam Sanip.

Ag Mohd Tahir and Fauziah were represented by a panel of three lawyers, namely PJ Perira, Hairul Vaiyron and Ariel C Dasan.

Ag Mohd Tahir was arrested by the MACC during the 'Ops Water' operation on Oct 4 and released on RM500,000 bail after being remanded for two weeks, while Lim was arrested on Oct 13.

The MACC, in a statement, said Ag Mohd Tahir and Fauziah failed to post bail up to this evening and were sent to the Kota Kinabalu Prison.

Their lawyer, Hairul Vaiyron, confirmed this when contacted.

The MACC also said that Lim was released after he posted bail by means of a bank draft. This was also confirmed by his lawyer, Chin.