Tommy Thomas says he reduced Vincent Tan’s son’s drug charges, no bribe involved
Tommy Thomas said throughout his professional career and in his personal life, he had never paid a bribe or received one.
PETALING JAYA: Former Attorney-General Tommy Thomas has slammed allegations that he acted in a corrupt manner in handling the case of tycoon Vincent Tan’s son who was arrested for drug offences, when he was in office.
In a statement, Thomas said as is usual in criminal matters, lawyers of the accused submitted written representations to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to reconsider the decision to charge.
“Having studied the representations and the investigation papers, reviewing the relevant provisions and discussion with the case officers, I recall reducing the charges.
“Receiving representations from lawyers and accused, and reducing or dropping charges thereafter are common occurrences in AGC.
“I have no access to any documents, record or file maintained by those who prepared the investigation papers,” he said, adding that he could not provide any further details of the case.
This comes after Twitter account Edisi Siasat, which recently changed its name to Edisi Khas, claimed that although Tan’s son was arrested under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act for being involved in a very large quantity of drugs, the case was classified as an NFA (no further action) by Thomas.
Thomas said the allegation that he was corrupt in the context of the Edisi Khas post simply meant that he was bribed.
“Malaysians must rest assured that throughout my professional career and in my personal life, I have never paid a bribe. During my stint as a public officer, I never received a bribe,” he said.
“Integrity, honesty and truth are precious values to me. Indeed, they are sacrosanct, and I have never compromised them. The allegation that I was bribed when I took this decision is therefore vigorously denied,” he said.
He also said he had never known Tan prior to his appointment and neither had he acted for him or any of his companies, adding he had also not represented the tycoon since he returned to practice after he quit as attorney-general.
“The timing and vileness of this attack on my integrity are linked to the Roger Ng (1MDB) trial that just commenced in New York, involving fraudulent use of monies belonging to Malaysia.
“Our politicians and personalities will be featured when evidence unfolds during this trial, which has received worldwide media coverage. Against this background, I am an easy target and a convenient digression,” he said.
PETALING JAYA: Former Attorney-General Tommy Thomas has slammed allegations that he acted in a corrupt manner in handling the case of tycoon Vincent Tan’s son who was arrested for drug offences, when he was in office.
In a statement, Thomas said as is usual in criminal matters, lawyers of the accused submitted written representations to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to reconsider the decision to charge.
“Having studied the representations and the investigation papers, reviewing the relevant provisions and discussion with the case officers, I recall reducing the charges.
“Receiving representations from lawyers and accused, and reducing or dropping charges thereafter are common occurrences in AGC.
“I have no access to any documents, record or file maintained by those who prepared the investigation papers,” he said, adding that he could not provide any further details of the case.
This comes after Twitter account Edisi Siasat, which recently changed its name to Edisi Khas, claimed that although Tan’s son was arrested under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act for being involved in a very large quantity of drugs, the case was classified as an NFA (no further action) by Thomas.
Thomas said the allegation that he was corrupt in the context of the Edisi Khas post simply meant that he was bribed.
“Malaysians must rest assured that throughout my professional career and in my personal life, I have never paid a bribe. During my stint as a public officer, I never received a bribe,” he said.
“Integrity, honesty and truth are precious values to me. Indeed, they are sacrosanct, and I have never compromised them. The allegation that I was bribed when I took this decision is therefore vigorously denied,” he said.
He also said he had never known Tan prior to his appointment and neither had he acted for him or any of his companies, adding he had also not represented the tycoon since he returned to practice after he quit as attorney-general.
“The timing and vileness of this attack on my integrity are linked to the Roger Ng (1MDB) trial that just commenced in New York, involving fraudulent use of monies belonging to Malaysia.
“Our politicians and personalities will be featured when evidence unfolds during this trial, which has received worldwide media coverage. Against this background, I am an easy target and a convenient digression,” he said.
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