Guan Eng, Phang plead not guilty to amended charges in graft trial

GEORGE TOWN: The graft and abuse of power trial involving Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and businesswoman Phang Li Khoon commenced today at the Penang High Court with the prosecution submitting the amended charges to both the accused.

Lim and Phang maintained their innocence and pleaded not guilty when the amended charges were read to them by court interpreter before Judge Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail.

In the first amended charge, Lim was charged with using his position as a public officer namely, Chief Minister of Penang, to gain gratification for himself and his wife, Betty Chew Gek Cheng, by approving the application for conversion of agriculture land to a public housing zone in southwest Penang to a company, Magnificient Emblem Sdn Bhd.

He allegedly committed the offence while chairing the Penang State Planning Committee meeting at the operations room, Level 28, Komtar building here, on July 18, 2014.

In the second amended charge, Lim was charged with using his position to obtain for himself a plot of land and a bungalow located at No 25, Jalan Pinhorn, George Town on Oct 21, 2015 from Phang for RM2.8 million, a price which he allegedly knew did not commensurate with the property's then market value of RM4.27 million.

Phang meanwhile is charged with abetting Lim in obtaining the bungalow at an undervalued cost.

She allegedly committed the offence at the same place and date.

The amended charge involved the change of "civil servant" to "public officer" and the change of date from July 28, 2015 to Oct 21, 2015.