Penang undersea tunnel trial witness admits to be declared bankrupt

KUALA LUMPUR: In a startling revelation during the ongoing trial in the Penang undersea tunnel corruption trial, businessman Datuk Seri G. Gnanaraja admitted to being declared bankrupt after failing to pay his legal fees in a separate case at the Shah Alam Court.

During cross-examination with counsel Ram Karpal Singh, Gnanaraja admitted to being declared bankrupt since Dec 12 last year after failing to pay his legal fees in a separate case at the Shah Alam Court.

He acknowledged that he was represented by at least four lawyers during the proceedings.

“I had no idea what was going to happen, even with four lawyers representing me,” he said.

Despite acknowledging the successful outcome of the case, where he was acquitted and discharged without incarceration, Gnanaraja admitted a breakdown in his relationship with his four lawyers.

“I did not pay them their fees,” he said, adding that the lawyers, from the firm Dennis Nik & Wong, subsequently sued him for unpaid fees.

When asked, Gnanaraja tried to justify his non-payment by claiming dissatisfaction with their services.

“They didn’t do sufficient work for me,” he said, questioning the reasonableness of their bill.

However, he admitted that none of his defences convinced the court, which eventually ruled in favour of the law firm, granting them judgment for RM5.3mil, a sum Gnanaraja has yet to pay.

Ram Karpal: Did you pay that amount of fees?

Gnanaraja: No.

Ram Karpal: Despite being told by the court to do so, you still refused.

Gnanaraja: Yes.

Ram Karpal: So, next, you became bankrupt. You’re a bankrupt by the judgment of the court.

Gnanaraja: Yes, agree.

Ram Karpal: And today you’re testifying as a bankrupt.

Gnanaraja: Yes.

In the Shah Alam case, Gnanaraja was charged in 2019 with cheating Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd former director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, another star witness of Lim’s trial, of RM19mil.

He paid a fine after the charges were amended later.

Previously, a 108-page statement by Zarul Ahmad to the MACC, which was recorded for the Shah Alam case, was allowed to be used in Lim’s trial to impeach Zarul Ahmad’s credibility for making conflicting statements involving Gnanaraja.

Gnanaraja also told the court that he felt compelled to “get things done” as he was serving the then chief minister Lim.

He confirmed that in his earlier Shah Alam statement, he mentioned Lim having requested the establishment of a company and a bank account for the bribe payment for the project.

“Yes, I said I would talk to him when he came to my house,” he said, adding that Lim had reviewed at his residence to gain personal confidence in the company’s documentation processes.

However, Gnanaraja agreed that Bumi Muhibah had been established a year before their meeting.

When questioned about the company’s purpose, Gnanaraja denied that it was set up as a vehicle for fraud.

“I don’t agree with the word fraud here,” he said, adding that he did not see his actions as fraudulent or corrupt.

Ram Karpal further pressed Gnanaraja on why he allowed Bumi Muhibah to be used for alleged wrongdoings.

“Technically, that’s your interpretation.

“For me, at that point in time, I was serving the chief minister, so I had to get it done for him,” he said, adding that he felt obliged to follow Lim’s instructions.

Gnanaraja also denied fabricating his testimony or lying in court.

Ram Karpal: You’ve come to court asking the court to believe you — that Lim, whom you don’t really know, was going to engage you for corrupt practices, and you claim to have made him believe you would open a company and prepare an account.

Gnanaraja: Yes

Ram Karpal: I put it to you that these are all lies, as Lim Guan Eng could not have asked you to open an account in Bumi Muhibah because a bank account had already been opened at that time.

Gnanaraja: I do not agree.

Ram Karpal: You’re a liar, that’s what you have been doing on several statements in this court.

Gnanaraja: I disagree.

Lim, 64, is facing an amended charge of using his position as then Penang chief minister to solicit RM3.3mil in bribes as an inducement to assist Zarul Ahmad in securing the undersea tunnel project worth RM6.34bil.

Lim allegedly committed the offence at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office, Level 28, Komtar, George Town, between January 2011 and August 2017.

In the second amended charge, Lim is accused of soliciting a 10% profit from the company as gratification to secure the project.

The offence was allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City here, in March 2011.

Lim, who is Bagan MP, faces two further charges of causing two plots of land worth RM208.8mil, belonging to the Penang government, to be disposed of to two companies linked to the project.

The trial before Judge Azura Alwi continues on Oct 14.