KUALA LUMPUR: National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) will be calling four witnesses in the Malaysian government's suit to recover RM253.6 million in loan payments and interests in connection with the National Feedlot Centre in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan from the company.

Lawyer Chong Kah Yee, representing NFC, said one of the defendant's witnesses, auditor Andrew Heng, had completed his testimony before Judicial Commissioner Anand Ponnudurai on March 17.

"During the online case management proceedings (e-Review) today, the court set Jan 24 to 28 next year to resume the trial and we will present four more witnesses to testify," he said.

Meanwhile, Senior Federal Counsel Azizan Md Arshad, representing the government, said the trial had commenced on Jan 13 last year and the plaintiffs had closed their case on March 17 after calling seven witnesses to testify.

NFC is managed by the husband and three children of former Women, Family and Community Development Minister Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

In its claim, the government as the sole plaintiff, named the NFC as the first defendant, while Shahrizat's husband, Datuk Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, and their three children, Wan Shahinur Izran, Wan Shahinur Izmir and Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah, are the second to fifth defendants, respectively.

The government signed a loan agreement totalling RM250 million with NFC on Dec 6, 2007 to finance the costs of establishing and operating a National Feedlot Centre in Gemas as part of its policy to develop and increase beef production.

The loan was disbursed in three separate tranches and Mohamad Salleh's family had made 10 withdrawals amounting to RM180.51 million from Jan 24, 2008 to Jan 3, 2011.

-- BERNAMA