Large amount of money belonged to others
Published on: Friday, June 27, 2025
Published on: Fri, Jun 27, 2025
By: Jo Ann Mool Text Size: Ag Mohd Tahir, 63, is on trial together with his wife, Fauziah Piut, 60, and former deputy director, Lim Lam Beng, 66, with each facing separate charges among a total of 37 for money laundering involving RM61.57 million in cash and bank savings, as well as unlawful possession of luxury items between October and November 2016. Kota Kinabalu: Former Water Department Director, Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib, told the Special Corruption Court on Thursday that a large sum of money belonging to others was kept in the pantry of his office. During cross-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Mahadi Abdul Jumaat, before Judge Abu Bakar Manat, Ag Mohd Tahir said there were items belonging to others in the pantry, namely a large sum of money, at the time of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) raid in 2016. On Wednesday, Ag Mohd Tahir, in his witness statement during examination-in-chief regarding the money found in the pantry of his office at Wisma Muis, stated that most of the money did not belong to him and had already been there when he took office in 2003. He added that part of the money was his, which he had received from business partnerships with Michael Wong, Fauzi and Haris. Ag Mohd Tahir said most of the money found in the pantry was not his, as it had already been there when he started occupying the office. He estimated that about RM20 million was already in the pantry, while roughly RM3 million belonged to him personally. Ag Mohd Tahir, 63, is on trial together with his wife, Fauziah Piut, 60, and former deputy director, Lim Lam Beng, 66, with each facing separate charges among a total of 37 for money laundering involving RM61.57 million in cash and bank savings, as well as unlawful possession of luxury items between October and November 2016. When further cross-examined by the prosecution on Thursday, Ag Mohd Tahir said he was unaware that his wife had 19 bank accounts across several banks, including Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), which collectively held a total of RM2.2 million. He also disagreed that more than 900 pieces of jewellery were found in his wife's possession in a room that was also occupied by him. To a suggestion, Ag Mohd Tahir disagreed that the cash, jewellery, luxury watches, designer handbags, and luxury cars found inside and outside his house belonged to him and his wife. Ag Mohd Tahir agreed to the prosecution's suggestion that his wife could not have afforded over 90 luxury handbags based on her last drawn salary in 2013. He said her last job was as a secretary at Ko-Nelayan Kota Kinabalu but was unsure about the prosecution's claim that her salary ranged between RM2,500 and RM3,000. In response to a question, Ag Mohd Tahir said he could not recall whether all his other sources of income had ever been declared to the Sabah Water Department's administration, as it had been too long ago. He disagreed with the prosecution's suggestion that he failed to make declarations because the seized cash and valuable items were proceeds of illegal activities, and also disagreed that he did not declare them because he could not explain the source of the income. DPP: You also did not make any declaration regarding assets owned by your spouse? Ag Mohd Tahir: I do not remember, it was a long time ago. DPP: You also could not declare the source of income for the assets owned by your wife. Ag Mohd Tahir: I disagree. DPP: If the money and items were lawfully acquired, you would have had no issue declaring them, agree? Ag Mohd Tahir: I am not sure. When referred to a document, his asset declaration dated Jan 3, 2005, Ag Mohd Tahir agreed with the prosecution's suggestion that it was the only declaration he made throughout his service up to 2016. DPP: From this declaration, you only declared one house at Grace Ville and one car, correct? Ag Mohd Tahir: Correct. DPP: From this declaration, you stated that your wife's income was only RM2,000, correct? Ag Mohd Tahir: Correct. DPP: It is clear from this document that the millions in cash, several luxury cars, a luxury home worth millions, luxury watches, and the millions in your bank accounts were never declared, based on this declaration. Correct? Ag Mohd Tahir: Based on this document, correct. DPP: And from this document, no business income was declared. Correct? Ag Mohd Tahir: Correct. Also appearing for the prosecution are DPPS Haresh Prakash Somiah and Zander Lim, alongside DPP Mahadi. Representing Ag Mohd Tahir and Fauziah were counsels Datuk Ansari Abdullah and Erveana Ansari, while Lim was defended by Datuk Tan Hock Chuan, Baldev Singh, Karpaljit Singh, and Kelvin Wong. Trial adjourned to July 23. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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Large amount of money belonged to others
Published on: Friday, June 27, 2025 Published on: Fri, Jun 27, 2025 By: Jo Ann Mool Text Size: Ag Mohd Tahir, 63, is on trial together with his wife, Fauziah Piut, 60, and former deputy director, Lim Lam Beng, 66, with each facing separate charges among a total of 37 for money laundering involving RM61.57 million in cash and bank savings, as well as unlawful possession of luxury items between October and November 2016. Kota Kinabalu: Former Water Department Director, Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib, told the Special Corruption Court on Thursday that a large sum of money belonging to others was kept in the pantry of his office. During cross-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Mahadi Abdul Jumaat, before Judge Abu Bakar Manat, Ag Mohd Tahir said there were items belonging to others in the pantry, namely a large sum of money, at the time of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) raid in 2016. On Wednesday, Ag Mohd Tahir, in his witness statement during examination-in-chief regarding the money found in the pantry of his office at Wisma Muis, stated that most of the money did not belong to him and had already been there when he took office in 2003. He added that part of the money was his, which he had received from business partnerships with Michael Wong, Fauzi and Haris. Ag Mohd Tahir said most of the money found in the pantry was not his, as it had already been there when he started occupying the office. He estimated that about RM20 million was already in the pantry, while roughly RM3 million belonged to him personally. Ag Mohd Tahir, 63, is on trial together with his wife, Fauziah Piut, 60, and former deputy director, Lim Lam Beng, 66, with each facing separate charges among a total of 37 for money laundering involving RM61.57 million in cash and bank savings, as well as unlawful possession of luxury items between October and November 2016. When further cross-examined by the prosecution on Thursday, Ag Mohd Tahir said he was unaware that his wife had 19 bank accounts across several banks, including Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), which collectively held a total of RM2.2 million. He also disagreed that more than 900 pieces of jewellery were found in his wife's possession in a room that was also occupied by him. To a suggestion, Ag Mohd Tahir disagreed that the cash, jewellery, luxury watches, designer handbags, and luxury cars found inside and outside his house belonged to him and his wife. Ag Mohd Tahir agreed to the prosecution's suggestion that his wife could not have afforded over 90 luxury handbags based on her last drawn salary in 2013. He said her last job was as a secretary at Ko-Nelayan Kota Kinabalu but was unsure about the prosecution's claim that her salary ranged between RM2,500 and RM3,000. In response to a question, Ag Mohd Tahir said he could not recall whether all his other sources of income had ever been declared to the Sabah Water Department's administration, as it had been too long ago. He disagreed with the prosecution's suggestion that he failed to make declarations because the seized cash and valuable items were proceeds of illegal activities, and also disagreed that he did not declare them because he could not explain the source of the income. DPP: You also did not make any declaration regarding assets owned by your spouse? Ag Mohd Tahir: I do not remember, it was a long time ago. DPP: You also could not declare the source of income for the assets owned by your wife. Ag Mohd Tahir: I disagree. DPP: If the money and items were lawfully acquired, you would have had no issue declaring them, agree? Ag Mohd Tahir: I am not sure. When referred to a document, his asset declaration dated Jan 3, 2005, Ag Mohd Tahir agreed with the prosecution's suggestion that it was the only declaration he made throughout his service up to 2016. DPP: From this declaration, you only declared one house at Grace Ville and one car, correct? Ag Mohd Tahir: Correct. DPP: From this declaration, you stated that your wife's income was only RM2,000, correct? Ag Mohd Tahir: Correct. DPP: It is clear from this document that the millions in cash, several luxury cars, a luxury home worth millions, luxury watches, and the millions in your bank accounts were never declared, based on this declaration. Correct? Ag Mohd Tahir: Based on this document, correct. DPP: And from this document, no business income was declared. Correct? Ag Mohd Tahir: Correct. Also appearing for the prosecution are DPPS Haresh Prakash Somiah and Zander Lim, alongside DPP Mahadi. Representing Ag Mohd Tahir and Fauziah were counsels Datuk Ansari Abdullah and Erveana Ansari, while Lim was defended by Datuk Tan Hock Chuan, Baldev Singh, Karpaljit Singh, and Kelvin Wong. Trial adjourned to July 23. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Malay Mail
9 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Ex-Sabah water director tells court only RM3m in office pantry cash was his, claims bulk of RM20m belonged to ‘someone else'
KOTA KINABALU, June 26 — A Sessions Court here today heard that large amount of cash allegedly found by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in a former Sabah Water Department director's office pantry belonged to someone else. The first defence witness, Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib, 63, told judge Abu Bakar Manat that most of the cash found in the pantry did not belong to him — only the amount inside a knapsack was his. Under cross-examination by deputy public prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat, Ag Mohd Tahir disagreed with the suggestion that he was the only person who had a key to the pantry. Mahadi: At the pantry and inside the knapsack, there was nothing belonging to anyone else. Agree?Ag Mohd Tahir: Only inside the knapsack was mine. Mahadi: In the pantry, there were items belonging to someone else?Ag Mohd Tahir: Yes. Mahadi: Can you tell the court what items belonged to someone else?Ag Mohd Tahir: A large amount of cash. He also agreed that no items in the knapsack belonged to someone else. Earlier, under examination-in-chief, Ag Mohd Tahir testified that the bulk of the RM20 million allegedly found in the pantry was already there when he entered the office. He claimed that from time to time he would keep his money there, especially when his brother came to request political donations. He maintained that only RM3 million of the RM20 million belonged to him. Ag Mohd Tahir is on trial alongside his wife Fauziah Hj Piut, 58, and former department deputy director Lim Lam Beng @ Lim Chee Hong, 69. He faces 11 charges, while Fauziah faces 19 charges under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUA). The couple also faces two joint charges under the same section, while Ag Mohd Tahir has an additional charge under Section 4(1)(a). The alleged offences were committed between October 4 and November 4, 2016, at various locations including Ag Mohd Tahir's office, a house in Sembulan, bank branches, a condominium in Sulaman, and a tower in Kuala Lumpur. Lim is alleged to have committed related offences between October 13 and November 8, 2016, at the MACC office in Jalan UMS and at a residence in Kota Kinabalu. Ag Mohd Tahir also testified that he was unaware his wife had 19 bank accounts totalling RM2.2 million. He disagreed with claims that MACC had seized 900 pieces of jewellery, initially valued at RM1.7 million in 2016, and later appraised at RM4.1 million in 2023. The prosecution is led by deputy public prosecutors Mahadi Abdul Jumaat, Haresh Prakash Somiah and Zander Lim. Ag Mohd Tahir and Fauziah are represented by Datuk Hj Ansari Abdullah and Erveana Ansari. Lim is defended by Datuk Tan Hock Chuan, Baldev Singh and Kelvin Wong. The trial resumes on July 23. — The Borneo Post
