Published: Thursday November 17, 2011 MYT 8:18:00 PM

Prosecution closes case in Dr Ling’s trial over PKFZ

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court set Dec 12 and 13 to hear submissions after the prosecution closed its case Thursday in the trial of former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) case.

The prosecution offered 113 witnesses to the defence, among them two former prime ministers Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and several Cabinet ministers.

Defence lawyer Wong Kian Kheong told the court that he intended to call Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as a witness in the event Dr Ling is called to make his defence because the prime minister had chaired a Cabinet meeting in 2007 in place of Abdullah when he (Najib) was the deputy prime minister.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah said the defence would have to make an application to call Najib as a witness and it was up to the prime minister to decide whether to turn up as a witness.

The prosecution closed its case today after having called 25 witnesses, among them several former ministers, investigating officers, former senior officers of the transport ministry and former Port Klang Authority general manager O.C. Phang.

The case, before Judge Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi, began on Aug 1 and involved 173 exhibits.

Dr Ling was first charged on July 29 last year in the Putrajaya Sessions Court and was allowed bail of RM1mil after he pleaded not guilty.

Wong then applied to the court to have the case transferred to the High Court, arguing that it was a high profile case.

Dr Ling, 68, is charged with cheating the government by not disclosing to the Cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5percent per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, which had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) based on RM25 per sq ft inclusive of the coupon/interest rate.

He also faces two alternative charges, of cheating and intentionally omitting from the Cabinet that the 7.5percent per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price.

The offences were allegedly committed at the fourth floor of the Prime Minister's Office, Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya, between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.

The trial of Phang on three counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM254.85mil was postponed until after the disposal of Dr Ling's trial.

During the trial, Dr Ling was seen in the company of his wife, Toh Puan Ena Ling, and their two sons, Hee Leong and Hee Kiat. - Bernama

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