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Last Updated: 7:29pm, Nov 08, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: It appears that former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik is truly a free man after the Attorney-General Chambers decided not to appeal against his acquittal in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) land deal.

Today was the last day of the 14-day deadline for the AGC to file the appeal following Ling's acquittal on Oct 25. As of 7pm, fz.com understands that there has been no decision on the matter.

The former minister, 70, has been acquitted over three charges of cheating the government in relation to the PKFZ development project.

It was reported that High Court judge Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi had said that Ling “had discharged his burden of raising reasonable doubt upon the prosecution’s case”.

The former MCA president was accused of cheating the government by not disclosing to the cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5% per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, knowing that it had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department.

He also faced two alternative charges of cheating and intentionally not disclosing to the cabinet that the 7.5% per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price.

Ling was alleged to have committed the offences at Level 4, Prime Minister's Office, Perdana Putra Building, in Putrajaya between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.

He was represented by Wong Kian Kheong.

In his written judgement, Ahmadi said that Ling’s only interest in the case was acquiring the piece of land as soon as possible after things were “moving too slowly” despite the Cabinet deciding to purchase the land in 1999.

Ahmadi had said that the issue of concealing the valuation by the Valuation and Property Services department (JPPH) and the element of interest payable for the purchase was a “non-issue” as it was the Finance Ministry (MOF) that determined the purchase price and had full knowledge of the total cost incurred.

Ahmadi also noted that there was no evidence on who initiated the PKFZ project involving the land procurement, with evidence making it clear that Ling was not involved.

The probe into the PKFZ land deal started in early 2009 after then Port Klang Authority chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng lodged a report following a financial audit of the project.


For more stories, go to www.fz.com, the website for freedom of expression and fairness in articulation.


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