Secret documents to be opened for Ling's trial

Confidential documents are to be declassified for the cheating case allegedly involving former transport minister Dr Ling Liong Sik.

Attorney-general (AG) Abdul Gani Patail told the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning that the process of declassification will take time.

“We will give (the defence) over 200 documents, some of which are confidential and which require time to be declassified,” he told Justice Ahmadi Asmadi during a discussion that saw the trial dates being set for May 3-20.

“We have yet to receive some of the documents. Even after receiving them, we may ask for more documents to be provided.

“We will also have to study the documents, so a May date would be most suitable for the trial to proceed smoothly without any interruption.”

Abdul Gani promised that all the documents would be given to the defence by mid-January.

In September, the defence team had applied for the minutes of various cabinet committee meetings - a scheduled secret under the Official Secrets Act - to be declassified to assist Ling (left in pic).

Abdul Gani also said that 15 to 16 witnesses will testify during the trial, and that he had no objection to a defence application that conditions of Ling’s RM1 million personal bond be maintained.

Ling, 68, was charged on July 29 with misleading the cabinet between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002, into agreeing to purchase 999.5 acres of land on Pulau Indah for the controversial Port Klang Free Zone project at a price of RM25psf.

The payment was to be made on a deferred basis over a 15-year period at a 7.5 percent interest rate, where the cumulative interest paid would total RM720 million by the end of the repayment period.

This charge was preferred under Section 418 of the Penal Code. Ling was also offered an alternative charge, under Section 417, for the same offence.

After the main and alternative charge were read out to him by an interpreter this morning, Ling reiterated his plea of ‘not guilty’ and claimed trial to both charges.

Abdul Gani is leading a high-powered prosecution team that includes head of prosecution Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah and the head of forfeiture and money laundering unit, Dzulkifli Ahmad, in the AG’s Chambers.

Ling is represented by Wong Kian Kheong, R Rajasingam and Alex Tan.

On Khir’s bail

After the hearing, the AG was asked to comment on the high bail imposed on former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, who was charged with corruption on Monday.

The Shah Alam Sessions Court has set bail at RM750,000 although the prosecution had applied for RM1 million.

“He (Mohd Khir, left) is a dignified person and a high bail amount was proper,” said the AG.

Mohd Khir was charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code, with knowingly accepting a bribe, in form of two plots of land in Section 7, Shah Alam, for his Balinese-style mansion, at a substantial discount from Ditamas Sdn Bhd director Shamsuddin Haryoni.

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Who's Who in Ling's trial:

Judge: Justice Ahmadi Asmadi (right), formerly attached to Muar High Court and Shah Alam, and now with the KL High Court (Technology). He was once a DPP in the AG’s Chambers. He was appointed Judicial Commissioner on Aug 10, 2008 and made a High Court Judge on April 14, 2010.

Lead defence counsel: Wong Kian Kheong,a former DPP, now in private practice; he defended political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial.
 
Head of prosecution team: Abdul Gani Patail, who has been the AG since 2002, will lead the team up to the conclusion of the case.