Former company director denies lying under oath in Guan Eng graft case

A former director of Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd told the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court yesterday that he had not lied under oath while testifying in Lim Guan Eng’s corruption case. 

Ibrahim Sahari, 59, was responding to Lim’s lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, who was cross-examining him on inconsistencies in his witness statements at the Shah Alam Sessions Court and the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court. 

While testifying in businessman G Gnanaraja’s cheating case at the Shah Alam Sessions Court, Ibrahim said that Zarul Ahmad had told him of being cheated by Gnanaraja, who asked him for RM19 million.

Gnanaraja allegedly demanded RM19 million as an inducement to help close the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) money laundering case against Zarul. 

During proceedings in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on June 28, 2022, meanwhile, Ibrahim told the court that Zarul had confessed to him and MACC that he made a payment to Lim after being freed by the agency. 
 
Ibrahim also admitted to falsifying invoices and vouchers for funds that were later purportedly used to bribe Lim. 

During cross-examination by Tiara Katrina Fuad, who is also representing Lim, Ibrahim agreed with his statement in the Shah Alam court that the RM19 million given to Gnanaraja was for helping to close the money laundering case against Zarul.

During examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Mahadi Abdul last Friday, Ibrahim said his Shah Alam court statement differed from the one in the Sessions Court because they involved different charges and individuals.  

Lim, 62, is facing an amended charge of using his position as then chief minister of Penang to accept a bribe of RM3.3 million to help a company owned by Zarul obtain a construction project worth RM6,341,383,702 billion between January 2011 and August 2017.

In the second amended charge, Lim is accused of soliciting a bribe from Zarul, namely 10% of the company’s profits, as an inducement for obtaining the project.

He allegedly committed the act near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City in Kuala Lumpur on March 2011.

He also faces two charges of disposing two plots of land worth RM208.8 million owned by the Penang government to companies allegedly linked to the undersea tunnel project. 

The hearing before judge Azura Alwi resumes on Oct 23.