Guan Eng to be charged tomorrow, detained overnight at MACC headquarters
Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng is expected to be charged in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow for his alleged involvement in the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project.
Following this, MACC said the former finance minister will also be charged under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 at the Penang Sessions Court on Aug 10 and Aug 11.
Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng is expected to be charged in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow for his alleged involvement in the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project.
Following this, MACC said the former finance minister will also be charged under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 at the Penang Sessions Court on Aug 10 and Aug 11.
As for tomorrow, he will be charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009 at the Special Corruption Court in Jalan Duta.
MACC said the charges for tomorrow and Aug 10 are related to the undersea tunnel project, while the charge on Aug 11 is for a different case.
However, it did not specify in detail on the charge.
For the record, in September 2018, the Penang High Court had released Lim from two graft charges over the alleged conversion of state land status and purchase of a bungalow at below market value.
Yesterday (Aug 5), de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan (below) had stressed that MACC was free to reopen its probe into the bungalow deal if new leads surfaced.
He said that in a parliamentary reply to Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PAS-Pasir Mas).
MACC issued the statement after the DAP secretary-general was quizzed for more than an hour at the commission's headquarters in Putrajaya tonight.
It is learned that Lim would be detained overnight at the MACC lockup before being brought to court at 9am tomorrow.
Prior to being quizzed, the Bagan MP had questioned the timing of the summon.
"There is no reason why MACC should call me in at this hour.
"They could have arranged another time and I am willing to go see them," he told Malaysiakini.
Last month, MACC had questioned Lim twice, on July 22 and July 25.
Previously, MACC had also interviewed Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and former state councillor Dr Afif Bahardin as part of its probe into the undersea tunnel project.
On July 1, MACC had arrested former Penang Port Commission chairperson Jeffrey Chew. He was remanded for four days to facilitate investigations.
Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin previously published what he claimed were leaked MACC investigation papers which implicated DAP leaders for allegedly receiving kickbacks from project contractor Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC).
Lim responded that CZC had won the project following an open tender and denied the corruption allegations.
Part of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), the proposed 7.2km undersea tunnel connects George Town on the Penang island to Butterworth on the mainland.
The project also encompasses two highways connecting Gurney Drive and Air Itam to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and another paired road connecting Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang.
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