LONG ARM OF THE LAW: Law being escorted into the courtroom this morning Pic: Samsul Said

KLANG: A former Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) engineer was charged today in connection with the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

Law Jenn Dong, 51, was charged at the Klang Sessions Court this morning with 24 counts of cheating by inducing, via deceit, Port Klang Authority (PKA) to confirm payments totalling RM116.85 million to KDSB for two big projects that had not been carried out.

Of the 24, nine are for cheating PKA between Sept 29, 2006 and June 5, 2007, to believe electrical infrastructure works for a 33KV system for PKFZ Development had been carried out, while the other 15 charges are for cheating PKA between June 30, 2006 and May 30, 2008 to believe the 33KV system for Precinct 2 and Precinct 8 of PKFZ Development had also been carried out, although the accused knew the projects had yet to be carried out.

The charges also read that PKA would not have otherwise confirmed the payments had they not been deceived and thus stated Law's offences were punishable under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

Dressed in a pink shirt and brown pants, Law, the project manager for the PKFZ projects, appeared calm as he was brought into the courtroom at 10.50am.

He claimed trial to the charges read out to him.

Attorney-General’s Chambers' Prosecution Unit Forfeiture of Property Unit head Dzulkifli Ahmad, together with deputy public prosecutors Manoj Kurup and Hamidi Mohd Noh, appeared for the prosecution while the accused was represented by Tan Hock Chuan with Y.L Chong and Justin Wee.

Dzulkifli had offered bail at RM1 million but Judge Yong Zarida Sazali later set bail at RM250,000 after considering Tan's argument that on the grounds of fairness, the amount of Law's bail should be placed between RM200,000 and RM250,000.

Tan argued architect Bernard Tan Seng Swee was last week charged with the same 24 counts of cheating as the accused on top of the former's additional two charges and his bail was set at RM250,000 while KDSB chief operating officer Stephen Abok had two charges and his bail was set at RM200,000.

Tan also said although not in Kuala Lumpur to be charged last Thursday, his client had chosen to come in and voluntarily "subjected himself to the legal process."

Yong fixed Feb 4 for mention.

Also present in court was KDSB deputy CEO Datuk Faizal Abdullah, who told reporters he was leaving the case up to the court.

Last Thursday, The Malay Mail had reported that former PKA general manager Datin Paduka Phang Oi Choo @ Phang Ai Tu, 63, or better known as O.C. Phang, was charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT) over payments worth RM254.85 million to the project’s developer.

She was granted bail of RM350,000 with one surety. The court fixed the next mention for Jan 12 for Phang to surrender her passport.

Phang, who can be jailed up to  20 years if convicted, is represented by Ng Aik Guan.

Also charged that day were Abok, 51, and Seng Swee, 48, of BTA Architect, the project consultant. The pair were jointly charged with two counts of making false claims involving RM5.417 million in total.

Tan was also charged together with Law, who at the time was still at large, with 24 counts of making false claims involving a total sum of RM116.85 million.

Tan and Abok claimed trial over the charges. Bail was set at RM250,000 for Tan and RM200,000 for Abok, both with one surety each.

The duo face up to 10 years in jail as well as whipping if found guilty.

The next mention for their case is also Feb 4.

Abok was represented by Tan Hock Chuan while George Varghese appeared for Tan.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail had promised last week that more will be charged for their involvement over the PKFZ scandal, including government officers.

The arrests and charging will be done in stages, he had said.