theSun | WEDNESDAY JULY 22 2009 5

news without borders

‘Under siege’ Tee Keat

to seek police protection
by Giam Say Khoon
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: Transport Minister Datuk Seri
Ong Tee Keat said yesterday he will seek assist-
ance from the authorities, including the police, to
ensure his personal safety which has been under
threat following the release of the Port Klang Free
Zone (PKFZ) report.
He said such threats will not deter him from
discharging his duty.
Ong said his friends were concerned for his
safety after he had that he was “under siege”
over the PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the
multi-billion ringgit scandal, which was released
on May 28.
“After listening to my friends, I realised that I
should pay attention to my personal safety,” he
told reporters after launching the Talk To Tee Keat
roundtable initiative.
“I shall seek assistance from the relevant
authorities, including the police, although I had
said before that I will not be frightened or wor-
ried as long as I did not do anything against my
conscience.”
Ong, who is the MCA president, told a vernacu-
lar newspaper in an interview last week there
were a few forces which had collaborated to put
him “under siege”.
He said these included political and corporate
figures trying to block the report from being made
public.
Ong also said someone with links to the un-
derworld had delivered a threatening message
to him, which said: “If you’re wiped out from this
world some day, you should know why this has
happened!”
On MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua
Soi Lek’s advice to him to lodge a police report if
he felt threatened in discharging his duties, Ong
said he was thankful for Chua’s concern.
Chua had also commented in his blog (drchua9.
blogspot.com) that in politics, leaders were always
subjected to pressures from various parties.
“My pressures are from within the party and
also external forces. I take it that it is part of my
occupational hazard.
“I don’t complain openly,” Chua said, adding
that Ong should share his problems with other
MCA leaders.
On Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Yassin’s announcement yesterday that pre-
schools may become part of the national educa-
tion system, Ong said the announcement was
timely and accurate.
He said pre-schools have always been part of
the national education system and by including
them formally into the system, it will help improve
the continuity of education for children.
“Not all schools have pre-school facilities but
by making them part of the education system, our
schooling system will be complete,” he said.

Judge ordered to prepare

grounds of judgment
PUTRAJAYA: A Kota Baru sessions court judge
who twice defied a High Court directive to
prepare the notes of proceedings and write
the grounds of judgment in a criminal breach
of trust case involving a former government
servant has now been ordered to do the same
by the Court of Appeal.
Sessions court judge Zulkefly Mohamed had
found Mustapa Esa guilty, but the judge’s failure
to produce those documents caused a delay of
seven years, which subsequently led to a High
Court decision to discharge and acquit the ac-
cused as the documents were necessary for the
court to hear Mustapa’s appeal.
On Nov 11 last year, High Court Judge Datuk
Azman Hussin allowed Mustapa’s appeal and
acquitted him on grounds that the required
documents were unavailable.
The prosecution then brought the case up to
the Court of Appeal.
Zulkefly had, on Nov 13, 2002, found Mus-
tapa, a former tax collector at the Kuala Krai
district council guilty of criminal breach of trust
for failure to hand over stall rent of RM27,975
he had collected from the Kuala Krai market
between November 1998 and November 1999.
He was sentenced to three years’ jail and
ordered to served the jail term from the date of
the decision, on Nov 13, 2002.
Mustapa, 63, however, obtained a stay of ex-
ecution and was allowed bail of RM12,000 with
one surety pending appeal at the High Court.
In yesterday’s proceedings, the Court of Ap-
peal’s three-men bench led by Justice Datuk
Suriyadi Halim Omar unanimously remitted the
case to the High Court to hear Mustapa’s appeal
on merits.
Suriyadi, who presided with Justices Datuk
Ramly Ali and Azhar Ma’ah, then directed the
trial judge (Zulkefly) to prepare the notes of
proceedings and grounds of judgment.
The quorum also granted a stay of execution
and allowed Mustapa bail of RM12,000 with one
surety. Mustapa posted the bail. – Bernama

and 53. officers,” he told reporters

Bernama had reported that yesterday.

briefs a gang of pickpockets from the

Pickpockets from
Philippines nabbed
KUALA LUMPUR: The police
have crippled a syndicate of
pickpockets from the Philippines,
with the arrest of its mastermind
and six accomplices in Johor.
The suspects, dubbed “Man-
gkui” in the underworld, were
picked up in a raid on two hotels
in Skudai on Friday.
Police seized two watches,
a digital camera, a wallet con-
taining RM700, a pouch and
several mobile phones from the
suspects.
Dang Wangi police chief ACP
Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman said
the suspects were believed to
have hidden in the hotels fol-
lowing the arrest of nine other
accomplices at a condominium
unit in Ampang here on July 9.
The nine, including four
women, were aged between 30
Philippines had been preying on
tourists at the Lebuh Ampang
bus station, KLCC LRT station
and the vicinity of Bintang Walk.
Marine cops arrest
five pirates
JOHOR BARU: The Region Two
Marine Operations Force ar-
rested five pirates who robbed
15 crewmen and the captain
of a vessel in the Pengerang
waters, near Kota Tinggi, early
yesterday.
Its commander Datuk Isa
Munir said acting on a public
tip-off, the team raided the
PNG Express vessel berthed
at 2.7 nautical miles south of
Tanjung Setapa at 3.35am.
“The robbery was commit-
ted by six pirates, aged be-
tween 17 and 41 and believed
to be Indonesian nationals.
Five of them were arrested
while the other managed to
escape by diving into the sea
during a scuffle with marine
Isa said the 15 crewmen
and the captain were found in
a room with their hands tied.
Four machetes, four face
masks, passports, some
cash, a laptop computer,
binoculars and five mobile
phones were seized from
the suspects. – Bernama
Six years for
manslaughter
GEORGE TOWN: The High Court
here yesterday jailed an Indo-
nesian woman six years and 10
months for manslaughter.
Nadiah, 28, from South
Sumatra, pleaded guilty to an
amended charge of culpable
homicide not amounting to
murder on April 27, 2005, for
unintentionally causing the
death of her one-year-old son
in her house in No 2650A, Jalan
Besar, Bayan Lepas.
Judge Datuk Abdul Rahim
Uda said no sane mother would
kill her own child unless she is
“bonkers”.