GEORGE TOWN, Oct 3 ― The High Court here will hear an application to review the acquittal of former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and businesswoman Phang Li Koon from graft next week.
Justice Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail fixed October 12 to hear the case after the applicant, Muhsin Abdul Latheef, applied for an adjournment.
“The application will be heard next Friday so regardless of whether your lawyer is here or not, it will go on, I will not postpone this again,” the judge told Muhsin.
She also chided Muhsin for submitting an application to postpone the case two days before the hearing today because his lawyer Gunamalar Joorindanjn was unable to make it. In his application, Muhsin requested for the hearing to be on October 9.
The judge said she did not want further delays to the matter that could be easily dealt with, but made an exception this time.
Muhsin, commonly known by his social media name “Mamu Parpu”, filed an application to review the High Court’s decision to acquit Lim and Phang.
He filed the application on September 19 and named the Deputy Public Prosecutor as the first respondent, Lim as second respondent and Phang as third respondent.
In his application, Muhsin is asking for the court to replace the acquittal with a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.
His grounds for the application was that Lim allegedly had a close relationship with the Attorney General which is a conflict of interest.
The Penang High Court acquitted both Lim and Phang of graft charges on September 3.
Ramkarpal Singh, who is representing Lim, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Ghazali Muhamad Nadzri had already filed a notice for preliminary objections against the application.
“We have received the preliminary objections by the first respondent and we will support the preliminary objections submitted by the DPP,” he told the court.
Datuk V. Sithambaram, who represented Phang, said he is prepared to go on with the hearing of the application today.
Later, outside the courtroom, Muhsin said he is running short of funds to cover the costs of the application.
“I have made an appeal in my social media for donations as I need at least RM20,000 to cover the costs of this case,” he said.
He stressed that he wanted his application to be heard in court as he wanted justice to be served.
