Lim Guan Eng's corruption case: Judge suggests key witness to apply for protection

New Straits Times

5 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi today advised the key witness in the corruption trial involving Lim Guan Eng to apply for witness protection through the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) or the police, rather than the court.
She said Datuk Seri G. Gnanaraja, 44, who is the 37th prosecution witness, should channel his concerns to the prosecution instead.
"This is an MACC case, and I believe the MACC has the authority to ensure the safety of its witnesses.
"There is no need to bring it to this court. What can the court do? If I issue an order but it is not enforced, it is meaningless. Such an application should be made to the police or the MACC.
"I agree with the defence that there is no need to raise this during the trial. This is a court, not a place to make media statements.
"We understand and sympathise with what happened, but we cannot speak out of context. What the court wants to know is whether this witness can give evidence or not, if not, we can inform the prosecution," she said.
Judge Azura said this after Gnanaraja informed the court that he was not ready to give evidence because he had stitches on his hand as a result of a robbery case and was still traumatised by the incident.
"I cannot testify today until I can ensure my safety is guaranteed," he said.
Lim's lawyer, Ramkarpal Singh, objected to the witness raising the robbery matter in court, stressing that it was irrelevant to the corruption trial.
"What relevance does that have to today's case? Does the witness want to apply for witness protection? If the witness is unwell, he can request more time, and we can apply for a postponement.
"This is a criminal trial, and our client's credibility is at stake," Ramkarpal argued.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin explained that the witness had been asked to inform the court about his condition, which rendered him unfit to testify for the day.
"He is still traumatised for several reasons, and we explained this to the court. We will escalate the matter of his security protection to higher authorities, as this witness is expected to testify several times," said Wan Shaharuddin.
The court later allowed an application by lawyer RSN Rayer, also representing Lim, to strike out Gnanaraja's statement about the robbery, which occurred at his home in Jalan Bukit Gasing, Petaling Jaya, last Aug 6.
Meanwhile, Ramkarpal informed the court that the defence did not intend to seek the removal of Wan Shaharuddin from the case, as police had confirmed that the robbery was unrelated to the trial.
The court then allowed the prosecution's application to postpone the hearing to Aug 27 and 28, when the prosecution's final witness, an MACC investigating officer, is scheduled to testify.
According to the amended first charge, Lim, 64, is accused, in his capacity as the then chief minister of Penang, of abusing his position to receive a bribe of RM3.3 million to assist a company owned by Zarul Ahmad in securing the Major Roads and Undersea Tunnel Construction Project in Penang, valued at RM6,341,383,702.
The offence allegedly took place between January 2011 and August 2017 at the Chief Minister's Office in Penang.
For the amended second charge, Lim is accused of soliciting a 10 per cent bribe out of the project's future profits from Zarul Ahmad for assisting his company in securing the same project.
The offence allegedly took place near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, between 12.30 am and 2.00 am in March 2011.
Additionally, Lim faces two charges of disposing of a couple of state-owned lots of land in Penang, valued at RM208.8 million, to a developer linked to the undersea tunnel project.
These offences were allegedly committed at the Penang Land and Mines Office, Komtar, on Feb 17, 2015, and March 22, 2017.