Appeals court strikes out Peter Anthony’s notice of appeal

- The Malay Mail, Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 09:06 PM MYT

PUTRAJAYA, March 15 — The Court of Appeal today

struck out the appeal filed by former Sabah Infrastructure
Development Minister Datuk Peter Anthony, who is
charged with using false documents, to transfer his case
from the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to the Kota
Kinabalu Sessions Court.

A three-man bench comprising Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin,

Datuk Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd
Ghazali came to a unanimous decision during the
proceedings today.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Zaki Asyraf Zubir said

the appellant (Peter) never appeared in court throughout
the case management.

“I request that the court set a deadline for the appellant to

appear in court,” he said, adding that the appellant had
only filed a notice of appeal, but the appeal petition had
not been filed since last year. Peter and his attorney were
not present at today’s proceedings.
Appeals court strikes out Peter Anthony’s notice of appeal
- The Malay Mail, Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 09:06 PM MYT

Peter filed an appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High

Court’s decision on March 18 last year for his case to be
transferred to the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court.

Peter, 51, was charged as the managing director of Asli

Jati Engineering Sdn Bhd with falsifying a letter from the
Office of Universiti Malaysia Sabah Vice-Chancellor dated
June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement with the
intention of using it to deceive others.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Office of the

Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister at the
Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and
August 21, 2014.

The charge, framed under Section 468 of the Penal

Code, carries a maximum jail term of seven years and a
fine, if convicted.

On December 14 last year, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions

Court ordered Peter to enter defence after finding that the
Appeals court strikes out Peter Anthony’s notice of appeal
- The Malay Mail, Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 09:06 PM MYT

prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case

against him.

On February 18, the defence team closed its case after

calling three witnesses including Peter. The court set
March 31 to hear oral submissions from both parties
before deciding on the case. — Bernama
Speaker's office confirms Najib submitted explanation on 1MDB
repayment claims this morning. – The Malay Mail, Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 08:14 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — Pekan MP Datuk Seri Najib Razak has submitted his written explanation on his
remark early this month, that the government has yet to service 1MDB’s principal debt.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun’s office confirmed the matter to the media when asked.
“Yes, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had submitted it before 10am
this morning,” Azhar’s office said.

On March 9, Azhar told the Dewan Rakyat that he approved

Najib’s appeal for time after calls were made for the former
prime minister to explain his remark on 1MDB.

He said that Najib had written to him, and that he had agreed
to give the Pekan MP some grace period to appear before the
House to explain.

On that basis, the Dewan Rakyat Speaker also rejected

Damansara MP Tony Pua’s application to discipline Najib for
refusing to appear before members of Parliament and clarify
his remark that Putrajaya has not used “a single sen” of public
monies to repay 1MDB’s principal debt.
Speaker's office confirms Najib submitted explanation on 1MDB
repayment claims this morning. – The Malay Mail, Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 08:14 PM MYT
Opposition lawmakers had alleged Najib’s assertion was misleading.

“Yesterday, I received a letter from Pekan asking for more time until next Wednesday to explain. I had approved the
request by Tuesday morning,” Azhar told Pua on March 9, when chairing the meeting.
“So there is no question about whether or not Najib had defied
my order,” he added.

Pua tried to file a motion to refer Najib to the Rights and

Privileges Committee. He accused the Umno lawmaker of
misleading the House and failing to follow the Speaker’s
directive for clarification.

Azhar told the MPs on March 7, that he had already issued the
directive to Najib. He initially ordered Najib to provide an
explanation in writing by March 9.

Najib was reported by the media saying he would provide his

explanation after the March 12 Johor election ended.

Najib, who has been convicted of multiple charges of

corruption and power abuse involving funds
Speaker's office confirms Najib submitted explanation on 1MDB
repayment claims this morning. – The Malay Mail, Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 08:14 PM MYT
worth over RM40 million embezzled from SRC International, said in Parliament last week that no public funds were
used to repay 1MDB’s principal debt.

He argued that most of the funds to service the debt would have come from entities like Goldman Sachs, audit firms
KPMG and Deloitte, AmBank and the US Department of Justice.

These institutions had returned some of the funds embezzled

from the firm totalling RM23 billion to Malaysia. SRC
International was a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
State exco charged with raping his maid says it was political ploy .
NST- March 16, 2022 @ 5:38pm

IPOH: Former state executive councilor Paul Yong Choo

Kiong, who is charged with raping his Indonesian maid, told
the High Court here today that he was set up in a political ploy
following political instability of the state government under
Pakatan Harapan (PH) in 2019.

The 52-year-old Tronoh assemblyman who is also the main

defence witness, said this when he testified under oath before
judge Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed.

"I believe there was a political ploy. After the 14th General
Election (GE14), the PH-state government was formed with a
slim majority where there was an advantage of only three
seats.

"Should there be two people removed, the PH-led state

government would be toppled. It was not stable and rumours
were that there would be a motion of no confidence against
the Menteri Besar at the state legislative assembly.
State exco charged with raping his maid says it was political ploy .
NST- March 16, 2022 @ 5:38pm

"Rumours said that I would be replaced or removed and there

was another state executive councilor who was charged at the
court with bribing. So, it is clear to show that there were
parties who were trying to bring us down in the government,"
he said.

The father of four said that the date of the alleged incident
which was on July 7, 2019, was very close to the swearing-in
ceremony for the second term of executive council members.

"I believe there were some quarters who were envious of me

because I shouldered five important portfolios that time which
were local government, housing, public transportation, non-
Muslims affairs, and 163 new villages where all counselors
and village chiefs were under me," he said.

Yong's counsel Datuk Rajpal Singh when examining him

asked whether he had political enemies at that time to which
Yong said he had.
.
State exco charged with raping his maid says it was political ploy .
NST- March 16, 2022 @ 5:38pm

"I could sense I was being followed every time I left the office
which was at SUK (Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan) or when I
got home. My neighbour also informed me that there were
cars that stopped in front of my house several times.

"In fact, my wife always received suspicious calls. The callers

usually would remain silent, some even said nonsensical
things. Some individuals came to my house and disguised
themselves as census department personnel," he said.

When Rajpal questioned Yong on a police report lodged by

Perak DAP Advisor, Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham alleging that a
witness under protection had been blackmailed, Yong replied
that the same witness had taken his maid to the police station
to lodge a report.

"In the report, Ngeh had stated that a gun was pointed at the
witness and he was offered RM100,000 to carry out the task
and also warned that his life could be in danger if he told the
matter to anyone," he said.
State exco charged with raping his maid says it was political ploy .
NST- March 16, 2022 @ 5:38pm

During cross-examination by the deputy public prosecutor

Azlina Rashdi, she asked the accused if he had lodged a
police report after being followed by different cars, to which
Yong replied he had not.

She also asked whether PH still led the state government after
his rape case and if was still an exco member, to which he
said yes.

Yong's wife, Too Choon Looi, 46, the second defence witness
said her husband could not rape the domestic helper in just 10
minutes.

"I was home and left the house for only 10 minutes to buy fast
food and it was impossible for my husband to rape her.

"When I was home, my husband and his friends were still

outside the house. We had our meal together before we went
up, showered, had sex, and fell asleep," she said.
State exco charged with raping his maid says it was political ploy .
NST- March 16, 2022 @ 5:38pm

"When I was home, my husband and his friends were still

outside the house. We had our meal together before we went
up, showered, had sex, and fell asleep," she said..

On Dec 6 last year, the High Court ordered Yong to enter his
defence to a charge of raping his Indonesian maid after the
judge found that the prosecution had a proven prima facie
case against Yong.

On Aug 23, 2019, Yong pleaded not guilty to a charge of

raping his 25-year-old Indonesian domestic helper at his home
in Meru Desa Park on July 7, 2019, between 8.15pm and
9.15pm.
Federal Court boots out Najib's application
to adduce new evidence. NST- March 16, 2022 @
4:26pm PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Razak was dealt another
blow in his bid to overturn his conviction in the SRC
International Sdn Bhd case after the Federal Court today
dismissed his application to adduce new evidence to
boost his defence.

In a unanimous decision, a panel of five top judges in the

country said the former prime minister's application was
without any merit as he had failed to show what new
evidence he wanted to adduce.

His arguments, the judges noted, were the same which

were presented at the Court of Appeal (COA) last year
where the three judges then also dismissed Najib's
application.

The other judges on the panel were Court of Appeal president

Tan Sri Rohana Yusuf, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Azahar
Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abang
Iskandar Abang Hashim and senior Federal Court judge Datuk
Seri Mohd Zawawi Salleh.
Federal Court boots out Najib's application
to adduce new evidence. NST- March 16, 2022 @
4:26pm
The judges also dismissed Najib's arguments that he had
been denied the right to be heard at the COA and therefore
his right to a fair trial had been violated.

In booting out this argument, Tengku Maimun said Najib's

lawyers had been given ample time to fight their case at the
lower court and there was no question of him being denied
anything.

She noted that Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad

Shafee Abdullah had taken one hour twenty two minutes to
submit at the COA while lead prosecutor Datuk V
Sithambaram only took an hour.

"He (Najib) suffered no prejudice whatsoever. He was not

deprived of the right to be heard," she said.

In his application to include fresh evidence, Najib argued that

issues raised in the High Court and the COA had not been
fully determined and he had therefore not received a fair trial.
Federal Court boots out Najib's application
to adduce new evidence. NST- March 16, 2022 @
4:26pm
Among other things, he argued that the defence only recently
learnt that the MACC had confirmed that RM65 million of
1MDB-linked funds were recovered from Cutting Edge
Industries, a company in Singapore controlled by Datuk
Tawfiq Ayman, the husband of former Bank Negara Malaysia
(BNM) governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, and his business
partner, Samuel Goh.

Najib's lawyers had argued that the link between Zeti's family
and fugitive financier Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low was fresh
evidence which needed to be presented before the courts.

However, Tengku Maimun said Najib had failed to convince

the court on this argument and there was no reason for the
Federal Court to interfere with the COA decision.

She also pointed out that Zeti had actually been offered to
the defence to be called as a witness during the SRC trial but
Najib's team had opted not to do so.
Federal Court boots out Najib's application to
adduce new evidence. NST- March 16, 2022 @ 4:26pm
It was previously reported that the COA had on Dec 7
rejected Najib's bid to adduce fresh evidence before
upholding the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision to convict
him of misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International
funds.

The three-member COA bench comprising Justices Datuk

Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and Datuk
Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera ruled that there were no
exceptional circumstances which merited Najib's defence to
adduce so-called new evidence.

In a unanimous decision, the bench surmised that Najib's bid

to adduce the evidence by calling Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki
and former SRC investigating officer Rosli Hussein to be
examined was not necessary as Najib had failed to
cumulatively satisfy the requirements of the law.

It was ruled that Najib had failed to meet elements required

for new evidence to be allowed, namely credibility and
relevance.
Federal Court boots out Najib's application to
adduce new evidence. NST- March 16, 2022 @ 4:26pm
Najib was convicted by High Court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan
Mohd Ghazali on all seven charges in the SRC case.

He was found to have abused his power by using his

positions, as prime minister and finance minister, to approve
two loans of RM2 billion each by Retirement Fund Inc
(KWAP) in 2011 and 2012.

He was also convicted of three counts each of criminal

breach of trust and money laundering of RM42 million of
SRC funds, which ended up in his personal accounts
between Dec 26, 2014, and Feb 10, 2015.
In US 1MDB trial, court told senior Goldman Sachs legal exec warned
bankers about Jho Low’s questionable finances- The Malay Mail, Wednesday,
16 Mar 2022 09:52 AM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 — Goldman Sachs had been warned
against doing business with Low Taek Jho — or Jho Low as he is
popularly known — by its own internal legal and intelligence
adviser, a US court on the 1MDB scandal heard.

Former British intelligence officer Stephen O’Flaherty, who was

co-head of Goldman’s Business Intelligence Group, had flagged
the flamboyant Malaysian as having questionable finances and
gave the warning to the US investment bank’s Asian executives
Tim Leissner and Roger Ng, who were in charge of the 1MDB
account at that time, Bloomberg reported today.

O’Flaherty, who was reported to have 30 years’ experience in the

British intelligence corps, told the US court that he recommended
Goldman not accept Low as a client after a due diligence review,
just before the first 1MDB bond was issued.

He asked both Leissner and Ng if Low was involved after hearing

that the three had a meeting with Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed al
In US 1MDB trial, court told senior Goldman Sachs legal exec warned
bankers about Jho Low’s questionable finances- The Malay Mail, Wednesday,
16 Mar 2022 09:52 AM MYT
Nahyan, the chairman of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund
International Petroleum Investment Co in the United Arab
Emirates capital city.

According to O’ Flaherty, Leissner answered in the negative.

“He seemed to be irritated with me,” O’Flaherty was quoted telling

the US court.

“Leissner was saying Low was not present.

“We would not be comfortable working with Jho Low. We would

not have Jho Low as a client of the firm, but if Jho Low was a
small part of a deal, it would be difficult to say to the client he
could not be part of it,” he added.

O’Flaherty was testifying for the prosecution in the US trial of Ng,

the former head of investment banking in Goldman’s Malaysian
operations, who is charged with conspiring to bribe foreign
officials to win business for the US investment bank, which is in
In US 1MDB trial, court told senior Goldman Sachs legal exec warned
bankers about Jho Low’s questionable finances- The Malay Mail, Wednesday,
16 Mar 2022 09:52 AM MYT
violation of US corruption laws.

Ng, 49, is the only former Goldman executive to be charged over

the 1MDB scandal to date.

Leissner, who was Ng’s boss, pled guilty in 2018 to conspiring to

launder money and violate an anti-bribery law, and agreed to
cooperate with US prosecutors.

O’Flaherty told the US court in New York that he was sceptical of

Leissner’s denial that Low would not be a Goldman client.

“...it’s important that we have no role on our side for Low, and
asked that any payment to intermediaries are declared. I was
trying to get reassurance that Low was not involved,” he was
quoted saying.

The misappropriation of funds from 1MDB is regarded as one of

the biggest financial scandals.
In US 1MDB trial, court told senior Goldman Sachs legal exec warned
bankers about Jho Low’s questionable finances- The Malay Mail, Wednesday,
16 Mar 2022 09:52 AM MYT
Between 2009 and 2014, Goldman reaped some US$600 million
(RM2.5 billion) in fees for helping 1MDB sell US$6.5 billion in
bonds, but around US$4.5 billion of that was diverted.

US prosecutors are reported to have said that Goldman bankers

bribed officials to win business for the bank.

In 2020, Goldman paid a nearly US$3 billion fine and arranged for
its Malaysian unit to plead guilty in US court.

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was also the
finance minister who directly supervised 1MDB, is on trial in
Malaysia for a slew of criminal and corruption charges involving
the sovereign investment firm.
Ex-MARA Inc chairman pleads not guilty to RM10m money laundering
charges. – The Malay Mail, Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 10:58 PM MYT
KOTA KINABALU, March 15 — Former MARA Incorporated Sdn
Bhd (Mara Inc) chairman Datuk Mohammad Lan Allani today
pleaded not guilty before Judge Abu Bakar Manat in the Special
Sessions Court for Corruption here on two counts of money
laundering involving RM10 million.

Mohammad Lan, 66, is alleged to have engaged in money

laundering by transferring RM3 million from his CIMB Bank
private banking portfolio account to his CIMB Bank Berhad fixed
deposit account also at CIMB Bank, in Jalan Sagunting, Central
Building here on Dec 10, 2012.

On the second charge, he is accused of transferring RM7 million

into his account at the same place and day.

He was charged under Section 4 (1) of the Anti-Money

Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 (Act 613),
and is punishable under Section 4 (1) of the same act which
carries a fine of up to RM5 million or imprisonment for up to five
years or both if convicted.
Ex-MARA Inc chairman pleads not guilty to RM10m money laundering
charges. – The Malay Mail, Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 10:58 PM MYT
Judge Abu Bakar fixed bail at RM100,000 and June 30 for re-
mention of the case.

On Jan 10, Mohammad Lan was granted a discharge not

amounting to an acquittal at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court
on similar charges.

Judge Suzana Hussin made that decision when the prosecution

told the court that Mohammad Lan would be charged again at
the Sessions Court in Kota Kinabalu.

Also in the Special Sessions Court for Corruption, former

Sabah Ports and Wharf Department director Abel Ongkunik, 50,
pleaded not guilty to 29 charges of corruption at several banks
here between 2017 and 2018, involving RM1.29 million.

According to the charge, Abel corruptly obtained for himself a

bribe as an inducement to commit an act relating to the
principal’s affairs, namely approving a work licence for the
purpose of towing services to several companies in the state.
Ex-MARA Inc chairman pleads not guilty to RM10m money laundering
charges. – The Malay Mail, Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 10:58 PM MYT
He was charged with an offence under Section 17 (a) of the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 which
is punishable under Section 24 (1) of the same act, carrying a
fine of not less than 10 times the value of the bribe or RM1
million, or imprisonment up to 20 years, or both simultaneously.

Abu Bakar fixed bail at RM100,000 and set remention on April

29. — Bernama