PETALING JAYA, Sept 27 — A 46-year-old Malaysian man who is wanted by authorities here over the 1MDB scandal has been identified as the co-founder of a marketing firm closely linked to a popular website under scrutiny over its negative coverage of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Toh Lean Seng, who is wanted for questioning by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption (MACC), helped establish Asia United Media (AUM), a Hong Kong-based marketing agency linked to Dim Sum Daily.
Dim Sum Daily is a popular English language Hong Kong-based website that recently came under fire for its negative coverage of the ongoing protests in the former British colony.
The website reports on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement angered social media users recently, after it published an anonymous article accusing a foreign blogger who attended a protest of working for the US’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Toh is believed to have fled Malaysia just after the May general election last year. He is wanted alongside fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and Mohamad Redzuan Adamshah, over the investigations into 1MDB and SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The SCMP report also revealed that AUM is one of many entities Toh established in Hong Kong, with the others being Legion Tech, Legion Media, and DDT Holdings.
“Toh, who is believed by Malaysian authorities to have fled the country, incorporated AUM in Hong Kong in June last year with co-founder Torres Pit, corporate records show,” read the report, describing Pit as a Hong Kong-based YouTube vlogger who covers lifestyle issues such as travel and dating.
However, the report said Pit had been unaware that Toh was a fugitive in Malaysia when he co-founded AUM after meeting him in Hong Kong last year, despite Malaysian authorities’ public appeals for information on his whereabouts previously.
In June last year, it was reported that the MACC were tracing Toh and Mohamed Redzuan Adamshah, 43, to assist in investigations.
The anti-graft agency said the duo, who have registered addresses in Kuala Lumpur, were believed to have fled overseas.
