MCA vice-president and Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai's wife was today questioned by the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission over a vehicle which she had purportedly received as a gift from a construction company.

Lee Su Loo was seen entering the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya at 10am and left the building at about 2pm.

A MACC official confirmed that Lee was questioned over the gift of the said vehicle, a Toyota Alphard (with registration number WSB 15), valued at about RM600,000.

NONE This is believed to be the first time she was being questioned over the gift. Both she and her husband had denied any wrongdoing, saying that the vehicle was theirs.

Liow had said that he traded in his Toyota Harrier four-wheel-drive for the Toyota Alphard, which was actually a secondhand reconditioned MPV (multi-purpose vehicle).

"My wife (left) bought the seven-seat car through a friend, via trade-in," he was quoted as saying in the Chinese media in October.

Liow had revealed that their Alphard cost only RM380,000, not close to RM600,000 as alleged in the poison-pen letter which was circulated in the Internet.

NONE He added, in the process, he had traded in his old vehicle for RM130,000. The couple had then taken a RM250,000 bank loan for the car.

"Even if someone was willing to give us a car, my wife wouldn't have accepted it. The reason my wife wanted to change the car is that our kids have grown up, and we need a bigger seven seat car."

The issue became in the public eye after an article appeared in the Malaysia Today web portal on Oct 14.

The article - 'To The Health Minister YB Dato Liow' - claimed that Lee apparently took delivery of the Toyota Alphard on her birthday in January.

Health ministry's construction firm

The article further alleged that construction firm Axis Construction Sdn Bhd (ACSB) paid for the down-payment of the vehicle totalling over RM300,000 with a Hong Leong Bank cheque number HLB 373727.

ACSB is also said to have been paying the monthly instalment of the said vehicle by depositing about RM5,000 every month into the Public Bank saving account (account number 4487469902) under the name of the health minister's wife.

The article further alleged that Axis Construction is a construction firm that has figured prominently in the list of contracts awarded by the Health Ministry.

NONE Following the appearance of the article, DAP's Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng had lodged a police report on the alleged corrupt practice on Oct 18.

"We are lodging the report because we want the truth. We want to know if the allegations in the Malaysia Today article are facts or just a fabrication," Lim had said.

The police had then referred the matter to the MACC.

Liow had welcomed the probe by the MACC, stating that he hoped the investigation can clear his and his wife's name. He had also lodged a police report against Malaysia Today over its article.

Both Liow and his wife could not be contacted for comment today.