GEORGE TOWN: The High Court here today set Dec 6 for case management for Chief Minister's Lim Guan Eng's two counts of corruption.
Judge Datuk Hadariah Syed Ismail fixed the date after Lim's lead counsel Gobind Singh Deo stated that they need more time to review a 13,000-page document which they received from the prosecution.
The prosecution team was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Masri Mohd Daud, and includes Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, Deputy Public Prosecutor Budiman Lufti Mohamed, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Zain Ibrahim and Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Fadzlan Mohd Noor.
Lim had claimed trial to a charge of using his position as a public servant to obtain gratification for himself and his wife, Betty Chew, by approving an application by Magnificent Emblem to convert two lots of agricultural land for residential development during a state planning committee meeting on July 18, 2014.
The offence under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 carries a jail term of not more than 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Guan Eng also denied another charge under Section 165 of the Penal Code for using his position to obtain gratification by purchasing his house from businesswoman Phang Li Koon at RM2.8 million, which was below the property's market value of RM4.27mil on July 28, 2015.
The offence is punishable with a maximum two years' jail, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Hadriah also set Dec 6 for case management for charges against businesswoman Phang, who had been slapped with an abetment charge for allegedly selling the bungalow on Pinhorn Road to Lim on July 28, 2015 at below its actual market value.
The offence, under Section 109 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 165 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both upon conviction.