Sabah scandal: Albert files police report, sends legal letter to portal

Businessperson Albert Tei, who exposed a mining scandal in Sabah, has filed a police report against a portal that he accused of publishing false and defamatory allegations.

In a statement, his lawyer Mahajoth Singh said Tei (above) was informed that the report would be referred to the MCMC for immediate further action.

“Further, on my client’s instructions, my office has also issued a letter to the operators of the portal, requesting that they provide us with an address for the purpose of effecting service of cause papers in relation to defamation proceedings.

“Should they wish to accept service electronically, we have invited them to confirm the same,” he added in a statement.

At this juncture, Mahajoth stressed that the allegations made against his client are “wholly false, baseless, and calculated to cause reputational harm”.

“My client reserves all his rights under the law and will not hesitate to take further legal action as necessary,” he added.

Malaysiakini understands that it is the same portal which published an article linking a Singapore tycoon to Albert, which led MACC to initiate an investigation.

Following this, Southern Alliance Mining Ltd denied claims linking its managing director, Pek Kok Sam, to the Sabah corruption scandal.

In a response, Pek said the company and its subsidiaries issued a letter of demand to the portal which published the claims.

The charges

On June 30, Tei was charged with bribing Sabah Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Assistant Minister Andi Suryady Bandy and Sindumin assemblyperson Yusof Yacob to get help with mineral prospecting licences.

At the same time, Andi was charged with receiving RM150,000 in cash from Tei in exchange for facilitating a prospecting licence application for Syarikat Sinaran Hayat Sdn Bhd.

Yusof was charged with receiving RM200,000 in cash from Tei, allegedly to help process a prospecting licence for Syarikat Nusa Kini Sdn Bhd.

All three pleaded not guilty before Sessions Court judge Jason Juga.

Tei had disclosed videos and a trove of documents implicating more than a dozen Sabah assemblypersons in the scandal.

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