Decision on Peter Anthony’s false document case on May 26
The verdict on former Sabah infrastructure development minister Peter Anthony on a charge of forging a letter on contract work for maintenance and service of the mechanical and electrical system (M&E) of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), will be known on May 26.
Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi set the date after...
The verdict on former Sabah infrastructure development minister Peter Anthony on a charge of forging a letter on contract work for maintenance and service of the mechanical and electrical system (M&E) of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), will be known on May 26.
Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi set the date yesterday, after the hearing of arguments of both the defence and prosecution at end of the defence’s case.
"I will give the reasons for my judgement when delivery the decision,” Azura said.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin with Haresh Prakash Somiah and Francine Cheryl Rajendram while counsel S Devanandan represented Peter (above).
Earlier, Devanandan argued that based on the statement of Peter, who was the first defence witness (SD1) and his personal assistant Imy Christopher (SD2), the support letter on the contract work of M&E maintenance and service for UMS was not typed in the office of Asli Jati Engineering Sdn Bhd (AJESB) by third prosecution witness (SP3) Mohd Shukur Mohd Din.
Forensic analysis
Devanandan said it was unreasonable for the prosecution to state that the ‘title’ on the letter had been added by Peter.
“The testimony of Nurul Aiman Azmail (SD3) clearly states that if a forensic analysis is conducted on the computer's hard drive, the analysis will show whether the draft letter has been typed in the computer and whether there are any additions to the draft," the lawyer said.
Wan Shaharuddin argued that Peter falsified the letter typed by Peter himself in his office and Mohd Shukur in his statement said he left an empty letter, which had the letterhead of the deputy vice-chancellor, in Peter’s office and the next day he received a printed letter from Peter which had the date and content as well as the title.
"We urge the court to record that the findings of the prosecution have proven the case beyond reasonable doubts,” Wan Shaharuddin said.
Peter was exempted from attending the proceeding yesterday, under Section 264 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), as the politician had to attend an official event in Tenom Sabah.
Prima facie case
On Dec 14, the court ordered Peter, 51, to enter his defence after finding the prosecution has proven a prima facie case against him.
Peter who is a former Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) vice-president gave his statement on the witness stand on Feb 9 and 10.
Peter, 50, as the managing director of Asli Jati Sdn Bhd, was charged with forging a letter from the Universiti Malaysia Sabah deputy vice-chancellor’s office, dated June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement in the title of the letter with the intention of using it to deceive the office of the principal private secretary to the prime minister at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and Aug 21, 2014.
He was charged under Section 468 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine if convicted.
-Bernama
