KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 16): The Sessions Court here on Thursday (Dec 16) has ruled that the late Ewein Bhd founder Datuk Ewe Swee Kheng’s recorded statements are admissible as evidence in former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng’s undersea tunnel graft trial.
Justice Azura Alwi ruled that Ewe’s statements recorded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) are admissible as evidence.
“For the statements of Datuk Ewe, the court has heard the submission and read the authorities filed by both parties.
“With that, the court is satisfied [with the prosecution’s submission] and has decided to allow the statements recorded of Datuk Ewe Swee Kheng during the investigation to be marked as evidence,” she said.
The Sessions Court judge said she gave the ruling as the court found that the statements recorded by the MACC complied with the respective sections of the MACC Act.
Additionally, Justice Azura also dismissed the defence’s claim that Ewe’s final statement had been fabricated and did not comply with Section 30(8) of the MACC Act.
“The court is satisfied that the aforementioned statements were given by the witness (Ewe) to an MACC officer during an investigation as pursuant to Section 30 of the MACC Act.
“For the issue regarding [Ewe’s] handwritten [final] statement, this was clarified by the MACC officer (15th prosecution witness), and from the view of the court does not violate Section 30(8) of the MACC Act and is therefore admissible [as evidence].
“The witness (Ewe) had signed all of the statements, and pursuant to Section 54 [of the same Act,] the court allows the said statement to be admitted [as evidence],” she said.
Section 30(8) of the MACC Act stipulates that a statement of a person being examined orally shall be recorded in writing by any officer of the commission and the statement recorded shall be read to and signed by the person, and where such a person refuses to sign the record, the officer shall endorse thereon under his hand the fact of such refusal and the reasons thereof, if any, stated by the person examined.
Meanwhile, according to Section 54(a) of the MACC Act, any statement made by any person to an officer of the commission in the course of an investigation under the same Act shall be admissible in evidence in any proceeding under this Act, where the person who made the statement is dead.
On Nov 30, during the cross-examination of MACC officer Assistant Superintendent Mohd Nazri Mansor — the 15th prosecution witness and the officer who recorded Ewe’s statement — Lim’s lawyer Gobind Singh Deo alleged that Ewe’s recorded statement on Aug 14 this year was tampered with by the commission.
Mohd Nazri, after being questioned by Gobind, had admitted that he did not record Ewe’s statement in full.
Gobind had highlighted that on the final page of the seven-page handwritten statement, half of the page was seemingly computer-generated, which notably also included the section where the deceased had signed.
Prior to that, the MACC officer had also admitted to not having a laptop with him when he was recording Ewe’s statement.
Ewe had died after falling down from his condo in the early morning of Oct 5, 2021. His wife had testified earlier, over her husband's death.
The trial before Justice Azura continues; Lim was present to follow proceedings on Thursday.