GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his wife Betty Chew will be questioned by MACC officers over the next two days, their counsel Gobind Singh Deo said.
“Lim was accompanied by lawyer R S N Rayer while Chew was accompanied by Ramkarpal Singh Deo,” the Puchong lawmaker told reporters outside the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah here today.
The couple arrived at the MACC office at 9am today.
They will facilitate investigations into their RM2.8 million purchase of a bungalow in Pinhorn Road last year. Prior to the purchase, Lim and Chew had rented the property since 2009 at RM5,000 a month.
MACC investigations division director Azam Baki was reported as saying that Lim and Chew would be present with their lawyers to give a statement.
The purchase of the bungalow first came to light after Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya accused Lim of buying the property below market price during a Dewan Rakyat sitting in March.
It was reported that similar properties in the same neighbourhood were priced between RM6 million and RM6.5 million.
Lim, however, defended the purchase, saying that it was made on a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis.
The Chief Minister also said he used his allowances as an assemblyman and MP to put a RM700,000 downpayment for the 10,000 sq ft bungalow, with the remaining sum financed via a bank loan.
The bungalow’s previous owner, Phang Li Koon was later linked to Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre Sdn Bhd, a company which had purchased a plot of land in Taman Manggis from the state government for RM11.5 million.
In a statutory declaration, Phang said she has no links with the Taman Manggis land purchase nor the company that owns it.
-FMT-
Post a Comment