KUALA LUMPUR (March 18): Former Sabah executive councillor (exco) Datuk Peter Anthony's false document trial will be held here next month, after the High Court here today dismissed his application to transfer the case to Kota Kinabalu.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Aslam Zainuddin ruled that the High Court here under the High Court of Malaya cannot decide on transferring a case to the Sabah and Sarawak High Court as they fall under different jurisdictions.
Furthermore, the said offence was committed in Putrajaya and hence the trial cannot be transferred there. Moreover, the application by Anthony was made under a wrong provision and the application should have been heard in the Sessions Court, he added.
The decision was confirmed by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin to theedgemarkets.com when contacted.
He said following this, Anthony was brought to Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi, and the trial dates of April 5 to 9 and April 19 to 23 were fixed.
The former Sabah infrastructure development minister was charged last July here with “using as genuine a forged document” while he was the managing director of Asli Jati Engineering Sdn Bhd in relation to a purported collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to fund and set up an M&E technical training centre via direct negotiation in July 2014.
Anthony also faces several money laundering charges to the amount of RM8.75 million last June, and also another charge of abetting a criminal breach of trust (CBT) of over RM15 million in cases filed in the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court, in connection with the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA) land deal seven years ago.
Lawyer Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla appeared for Anthony in today's proceedings.