GEORGE TOWN, Sept 30 ― The Penang High Court has set December 6 for the case management of Lim Guan Eng's two corruption charges after improper documents prevented the start today, said his lead counsel Gobind Singh Deo.
He told reporters in a brief press conference that the High Court judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail also decided that Lim and businesswoman Phang Li Khoon need not appear in court then.
“The A-G (Attorney-General) was supposed to serve us documents that are used for the charges, and they gave us a CD that contains 13,000 pages without index,” he said.
He explained that the lack of indexing made it difficult for them to collate the facts, and they have since requested that the AG submit the index for the documents.
“The judge has stressed on the importance of getting all the documents in order for the case,” he said.
Pathetic of the AG's office for poor documentation.
He told reporters in a brief press conference that the High Court judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail also decided that Lim and businesswoman Phang Li Khoon need not appear in court then.
“The A-G (Attorney-General) was supposed to serve us documents that are used for the charges, and they gave us a CD that contains 13,000 pages without index,” he said.
He explained that the lack of indexing made it difficult for them to collate the facts, and they have since requested that the AG submit the index for the documents.
“The judge has stressed on the importance of getting all the documents in order for the case,” he said.
Pathetic of the AG's office for poor documentation.
But maybe GE-14 will be held in Jan 2017 or even Dec 2016?
Burying or attempting to bury a legal adversary with mountains of documents is not a new tactic, especially if the case is really not that strong (using sheer quantity to make up for lack of quality) and the other side lacks resources.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Lim Guan Eng will not lack for legal resources.
DAP and its sympathisers have legions of excellent lawyers.
However, this case can still be dangerous to Lim Guan Eng, because of the way the law is written.
The judge may accept the presumption of guilt, even if no personal gain can be proven.
If a Public official participates in a decision in which he has a personal interest, there is a presumption of corruption. The prosecution does not need to prove there was any actual personal gain involved.
The point of contention will be whether there is "personal interest".
If I chair or participate in a meeting which approves an award to my brother-in-law, that can be construed as personal interest. Even if I gain nothing from the decision.
The correct process is I vacate the meeting.
In Lim Guan Eng's case, the land approval meeting that he chaired involved the person who sold a house to Lim Guan Eng about a year earlier.
If the law is enforced without Fear or Favour, I dare say the Entire Malaysian Cabinet should be in Jail by now, next cell neighbours to Anwar Ibrahim.
But who says Malaysia is governed fairly ?