VK Lingam’s younger brother, V Thirunama Karasu, today alleged more under-the-table ties between the senior lawyer and top judges at the inquiry into the explosive video-clip involving judicial corruption.

The names of several judges - apart from former chief justice Mohd Eusoff Chin who has been implicated earlier - were brought up for the first time during Thirunama’s testimony today.

They included former Court of Appeal judges Lamin Yunus, Mokhtar Sidin and serving Court of Appeal judge Low Hop Bing and former Industrial Court chairperson W Satchithanandhan.

thirunama lingam interview 231107 closeup Thirunama took the stand at about 11.10am as the 18th witness on Day 13 of the inquiry.

In his witness statement tendered to the commission earlier, the 50-year-old electrician has alleged that Lingam sent legal files to Eusoff’s house at the late hours between 1995 to 1996, purchased handphone, branded wallet and handbag for him and even intended to buy Eusoff a house.

However, some of Thirunama’s testimony today were the portions of his witness statement which has been ruled as inadmissible by the commission earlier.

Only about two pages in Thirunama’s 21-page statement was ruled admissible and these are mostly restricted to Lingam’s close ties to Eusoff.

Portions struck out by the commission included Lingam’s ties with top judges other than Eusoff.

Also ruled inadmissible is Thirunama’s story about how Lingam forced him to pretend to be crazy after he confessed to the Anti-Corruption Agency about his elder brother’s activities during a probe in 1998.

He gave Eusoff three bowls of soup

Questioned by his lawyer Wee Choo Keong at the inquiry today, Thirunama revealed that he had driven his elder brother to the ex-chief justice’s house seven or eight times.

“I have also gone there on my own to send cake from Angel Cake House, briefcase and three bowls of soup,” he said to laughter from the packed courtroom.

Asked whether he knew the purpose of Lingam’s visits to Eusoff’s house, Thirunama replied: “He (Lingam) told me he got an important case. He mentioned something about Ayer Molek but I don’t know what Ayer Molek about.”

Thirunama said he has seen Eusoff at Lingam’s house twice for a dinner and another occasion when the ex-top judge came to bid farewell to Lingam and his wife who were leaving to seek medical treatment in the United States.

“(The first occasion was) in 1995, when Lingam asked me to organise some tables, chairs and do some cleaning up at his house. That night, I see Eusoff and his wife, Lamin Yunus and his wife came for a dinner,” he said.

This contradicted Lingam’s earlier evidence that he and Eusoff had only been to each other’s house once in 1995 respectively for their Hari Raya and Deepavali open house.

Thirunama also said he spoke to Eusoff four times - including one time on Lingam’s phone - when he sent gifts to the former chief justice’s house. One such occasion was when he sent the briefcase and wallet to Eusoff.

“He told me to come in (to the house). I placed the bag on the dining table and he look through the bag. He told me he was very tired as he just came back from London - from Porchester Gate,” he said, adding that he was told by Lingam that tycoon Vincent Tan owned a house in the posh London suburb.

Thirunama also said he came to know that one of Lingam’s drivers had fetched Eusoff from the Subang airport.

vk lingam and eusoff chin close ties On the infamous Lingam-Eusoff New Zealand trip in 1994, Thirunama said Lingam told him that he “travelled together (with Eusoff) from Malaysia”, and not “bump into” each other as the duo told the commission earlier.

He claimed he advised Lingam against framing the holiday photos .

“I told him ‘ Anne (big brother in Tamil), don’t be stupid to frame these photos or show them, people will come to know’. The photos were never framed,” Thirunama said, drawing another round of laughter from the courtroom.

‘Secretary threatened to expose ties’

In his witness statement, Thirunama has claimed he was given RM1,200 to purchase a handphone from Mutiara Telecommunication - owned by tycoon Tan then - for Eusoff.

During the testimony today, Thirunama also revealed that he was asked to buy a handphone for the former Court of Appeal judge Mokhtar.

Thirunama worked for Lingam between 1995 and 1996, which included doing odd jobs at the lawyer’s legal firm where he met Lingam’s secretary, Jeyanthi. Jeyanthi was instrumental in arranging the New Zealand trip for Lingam.

“She came to see Lingam to collect a cheque. Former Industrial Court chairperson Satchithanandhan told me she (Jeyanthi) was giving a lot of troubles to Lingam and she wanted to reveal many things about (Lingam and the) judges,” Thirunama claimed.

On Tan, Thirunama claimed Lingam knew the tycoon way back in the 70s as he has seen the tycoon at their family house in Seapark, Petaling Jaya.

The five-member commission was irked several times over Wee’s line of questioning and interjected to tell the lawyer to confine his questions only to the four areas in Thirunama’s witness statement which have been ruled as admissible.

Lawyers representing Eusoff, Tan and Lingam also objected to Wee’s questions numerous times.

At one point, when Mokhtar’s name was brought up by Thirunama, commission chief Haidar Mohd Noor appeared annoyed and ticked Wee off.

Arguing the need to get to the bottom of the matter, Wee retorted: “This is the mother of all inquiry, otherwise we will need another inquiry (to probe judicial corruption).”

“But we can’t have a free ride, (you) can’t just say anything here,” replied Haidar.

Later, another commissioner Steve Shim asked Wee whether there was any necessity to drag in other personalities into the inquiry and whether the lawyer’s intention was to call these personalities as witnesses.

“If I have my way, I would like Low Hop Bing and Mokhtar Sidin to be called,” Wee said, but did not elaborate on the nature of Low’s involvement.

Low’s name was mentioned in Thirunama’s witness statement but it was in the parts of the statement which was not accepted by the commission.

‘I am 110 percent not mad’

Earlier, Thirunama said he was 100 percent sure the person in the video clip was Lingam.

“I can recognise from his body language. He talks very loud, his movement, he gets very excited in a conversation, and the words ‘correct, correct, correct’ - the words he used so many times when I work for him,” he told the commission.

This prompted Haidar to quip: “As a brother, he can best describe his (elder) brother.”

Lingam has disputed Thirunama’s evidence and earlier reports lodged by him to the Anti-Corruption Agency, claiming his younger brother was a psychiatric patient .

Commissioner Mahadev Shankar drew laughter when he tried to clarify on this point.

“Are you mad?” he asked Thirunama.

“I am 110 percent sure I am not mad. That was not true. That was a serious allegation against me,” a smiling Thirunama replied.

When Eusoff was asked to come into the courtroom to be identified, Thirunama suddenly stood up in the witness box and said: “You are Tun, I respect you very much.”

He then confirmed Eusoff was the person he had met while delivering gifts to the former chief justice.