Ex-Sabah Water director denies approving contractor contribution scheme
KOTA KINABALU: A former Sabah Water Department director has denied agreeing to the collection of contributions.
Testifying in his defence before Sessions Court judge Abu Bakar Manat, Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib said he was completely unaware of any decisions made during the unofficial meeting where he was purportedly to approve a contribution amounting to 27.5 per cent of project costs from contractors.
He said that all statements regarding the meeting had come from Teo Chee Kong, who was his deputy at the time.
Ag Mohd Tahir made this statement in response to a question from his counsel, Datuk Ansari Abdullah, relating to the testimony of the 36th prosecution witness, Suhaimi Asbullah.
On trial alongside Ag Mohd Tahir, 63, are his wife, Fauziah Piut, 57, and former deputy director, Lim Lam Beng, 66.
The trio are jointly facing 37 charges of money laundering involving cash and bank savings totalling RM61.57 million, as well as the unlawful possession of luxury items between October and November 2016.
During the prosecution stage, the 36th witness testified, that on April 7, 2005, he confirmed Ag Mohd Tahir's attendance at a meeting with divisional and district engineers at the department's headquarters.
Recounting Suhaimi's testimony, the witness said that following the meeting with Ag Mohd Tahir, he attended an unofficial session which, he claimed, was only attended by Teo and engineers from various divisions and districts.
The witness further testified that, during this unofficial meeting, Teo had allegedly informed the engineers that Ag Mohd Tahir had approved the 27.5 per cent contribution collection from project costs to be implemented in the respective divisions or districts.
When asked about his working relationship with the 36th prosecution witness, Ag Mohd Tahir described it as normal, typical of a department head and his staff.
Deputy public prosecutors Mahadi Abdul Jumaat and Haresh Prakash Somiah appeared for the prosecution.
Fauziah was represented by Ansari and Erveana Ansari, while Lim was defended by Datuk Tan Hock Chuan, Baldev Singh, Karpaljit Singh, and Kelvin Wong.
The trial will resume on June 25.
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