Malaysian Bar president George Varughese today said he is not shocked by the acquittal of Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on corruption charges.

In a statement, Varughese said that it is not uncommon for the Attorney-General's Chambers to accede to representations made by defence lawyers, and that it is public prosecutor's prerogative to drop charges.

"It is the absolute prerogative of the public prosecutor at any stage of the trial, before the delivery of judgment, to decline to prosecute further pursuant to Section 254 of the Criminal Procedure Code...