‘Privileged prisoner' Abdullah Ang dies at 79
Jailed tycoon Abdullah Ang pictured in Kuala Lumpur in 1989 when he should have been in prison. (Goh Seng Chong pic)
PETALING JAYA : Abdullah Ang, a high-flying businessman who stirred controversy for receiving privileged treatment while in jail, has died at the age of 79.
His death on Wednesday was reported by The Star, quoting his former legal adviser Selva Sugumaran as saying that Abdullah had fought a long battle with an illness which saw frequent hospital visits.
His funeral will be held in Kuala Lumpur on June 2.
Abdullah was the chief executive of the now-defunct Malaysian Overseas Investment Corporation when he was convicted of criminal breach of trust of some RM338,000 in 1986.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison and a RM100,000 fine, and did his time in Kajang prison.
However, the Malay Mail newspaper revealed in 1989 that Abdullah was able to roam freely outside prison and even had a carpeted prison cell equipped with a refrigerator, video player and waterbed.
An investigative report by the newspaper led to Abdullah being pictured in Kuala Lumpur, where he was said to be helping run a family business, when he should have been at a prison-run orchid farm in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan.
Former Malay Mail editor Salehuddin Othman said a special home ministry panel which investigated the matter blamed it on weaknesses in the prison system, while then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad ordered a shake-up of the prisons department to bring it along the lines of the national police structure.
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