Judge Suzana Hussin granted bail of RM1 million with one surety. The court also fixed Sept 3 for mention of the case.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail headed the prosecution team, assisted by the Head of the Prosecution Division, Datuk Tun Majid Tun Hamzah, Dzulkifli Ahmad and Manoj Kurup while Dr Ling was represented by counsel Datuk R.R. Sethu.
Journalists and photographers, who had been waiting at the court grounds since morning following news that a dignitary would be charged, only knew the identity of the VIP when Dr Ling arrived at 4.36pm together with his wife, Toh Puan Ena Ling.
Wearing a blue striped shirt, Dr Ling entered the court at 4.43pm and straight away sat in the dock for the accused.
According to the charge sheet, Dr Ling is alleged to have deceived the Malaysian government between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002 by deceiving the Cabinet on Level 4, Prime Minister's Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, into agreeing on the land purchase in Pulau Indah for the mega distribution hub project in Port Klang according to the terms agreed to between Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd and the Port Klang Authority.
The terms in the agreement included:
a) the size of the land being 999.5 acres or 43,538,200 sq ft;
b) the purchase price for the land being RM25 per sq ft amounting to a total of RM1,088,456.
c) the repayment period being based on a "deferred payment" of 15 years with an interest rate of 7.5 per cent per annum (total RM720,014,600), and thereby dishonestly hiding the fact that the valuation by the Valuation and Property Service Department, Ministry of Finance on the land was RM25 per sq ft for a repayment period of 10 years or RM25.82 per sq ft for a repayment period of 15 years, including coupon/interest that could be charged for the repayment period.
"And as such, you have purposely induced the Cabinet to give its consent to the purchase, whereas the Cabinet would not have given its consent if the fact had been told to the Cabinet, and the fraud was committed with the knowledge that you could cause a loss to the Malaysian government, where you have an interest in the transaction pertaining to the fraud and you are bound under the law to protect it and, as such, you have committed an offence punishable under Section 418 of the Penal Code," it said.
Dr Ling is the fifth and the highest ranking person to be charged in relation to the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.
Late last year, former PKA general manager Datin Paduka O.C.Phang and three others were charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT) and cheating by making false claims.
The PKFZ, located on a 405-hectare site in Pulau Indah near West Port, Port Klang, suffered cost overruns in excess of RM1 billion.
It comprises 256 hectare of open space for factories/warehouses, 512 light industrial lots and 500,000 sq ft of office space for rent, 135-room hotel and an exhibition centre.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which investigated the project had recommended that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and police investigate former transport minister Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy and Phang for criminal breach of trust.
BERNAMA
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