Key prosecution witness bought luxury watch for RM40,000, court told in Guan Eng trial

A watch broker told the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur today that Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, a key prosecution witness in Lim Guan Eng’s corruption trial, had purchased a luxury watch costing RM40,000 from him.

G Rajan, 66, said he had managed to buy the Maurice Lacroix watch from a dealer as requested by Zarul.

Zarul is a senior executive director of Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd, the main contractor for the undersea tunnel project in Penang.

The fifth prosecution witness said he couldn’t remember the exact date the purchase was made but that he believed it was between 2013 and 2015.

Rajan said this during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, in the former Penang chief minister’s corruption trial involving the construction of an undersea tunnel and paired roads project in Penang.

Explaining his job as a watch broker, Rajan said he usually met with watch suppliers to buy watches which he would later show to his customers.

“I bought the Maurice Lacroix watch at RM20,000 and I sold it to Zarul for RM40,000,” he said.

When asked why there was such a vast difference in price, Rajan said RM20,000 was the dealer price and RM40,000 was the retail price of the luxury watch.

When cross-examined by Lim’s lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, he said he had brought three to 10 watches to show Zarul.

Gobind: What did he (Zarul) do with the watches?

Rajan: Sometimes he bought for his staff and sometimes for himself.

He also agreed to Gobind’s suggestion that Zarul was a watch collector.

When asked if he had ever met Lim in person, Rajan answered, “Never.”

Gobind: I put it to you that my client (Lim) has nothing to do with this watch.

Rajan: I don’t know anything. I never dealt with him.

Today’s proceeding ended earlier than usual as Gobind and Lim who are respectively the MPs for Puchong and Bagan needed to attend the Parliament sitting.

According to the first amended charge, Lim, 60, is accused of using his position as then Penang chief minister to obtain a bribe of RM3.3 million for helping a company owned by Zarul secure the construction project worth RM6,341,383,702 between January 2011 and August 2017.

On the second amended charge, Lim is accused of soliciting bribes amounting to 10% of the profits from Zarul to be earned by the company as gratification for helping Zarul’s company secure the project.

Lim also faces two charges of causing two plots of land worth RM208.8 million belonging to the Penang government to be disposed of to two companies linked to the state’s undersea tunnel project, between February 2015 and March 2017.

The trial before judge Azura Alwi continues tomorrow.