Lim Guan Eng's corruption case in Butterworth to be tried together with KL case

The Butterworth Sessions Court had on last Aug 10 allowed the prosecution’s application to transfer the case to Kuala Lumpur for it to be heard together as they involved the same transaction.

At today’s proceeding before Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi, deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin requested for the charge to be read out again to Lim, 60.

Lim, who is Bagan Member of Parliament, maintained his not guilty plea. He is represented by lawyer Gobind Singh Deo.

Azura then set Oct 12 for mention.

Lim was charged in his capacity as the Chief Minister of Penang then, to have used his position to obtain gratification of more than RM3.3 million to help a company owned by Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli to secure theRM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project.

Zarul Ahmad is a director at Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd.

Lim was charged with committing the offence at the office of the Penang Chief Minister, Level 28, Komtar, Georgetown, Penang, between January 2011 and August 2017.

The charge was framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which provides an imprisonment for up to 20 years and fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if found guilty.

For the case here, Lim was charged with soliciting gratification to help the company to secure the Penang roads and undersea tunnel project.

He is alleged to have sought 10 per cent of the profit to be made by the company from Zarul Ahmad nearby Hotel The Gardens, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City here in March 2011.