Bandar Seri Begawan - The defence counsel in the high-profile corruption trial involving a former Minister of Development yesterday called its second witness to testify before the High Court: the wife of the former minister who is on trial.

The former minister, YAM Pg Indera Wijaya Pg Dato Dr Hj Ismail Pg Hj Damit, is facing charges of corruptly awarding development projects to local contractor TED Sdn Bhd totalling about $100 million in exchange for "gratifications" of personal benefit.

Wong Tim Kai, managing director TED, also stands accused in the trial for allegedly providing the "gratification" that Pg Dato Dr Hj Ismail is accused of receiving.

In the High Court yesterday, the defence for Pg Dr Hj Ismail called his wife to testify in her role in the purchase of Lot 30823 in Kg Pengkalan Gadong in 1993.

The prosecution alleged that Pg Dato Dr Hj Ismail did not pay for the $500,000 house, an allegation based on the assertion that there is no substantial evidence of a receipt for the purchase of the house.

On Friday, Pg Dr Hj Ismail testified, "I did it on trust, like all of my dealings with other property owners. I did buy a few properties. T never asked for an official receipt."

However, the ex-Minister's wife, who was a special duties officer at the Ministry of Education -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment