Former Sabah Water no. 2 faces 146 charges of misappropriating S$10.6m

KOTA KINABALU (MALAYSIA) — A former top civil servant from Sabah claimed trial on Wednesday (Dec 13) to 146 counts of misappropriation of funds totalling RM32 million (S$10.6 million), the latest prosecution in one of the country’s biggest corruption scandals involving a state-level agency.

Former Sabah Water Department (SWD) deputy director Teo Chee Kong, 52, pleaded not guilty to the charges proffered under various sections of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Acts.

The charges were not read aloud in the courtroom due to the volume, and were instead summarised for Teo by the court interpreter.

Sessions Court judge Nixon Kennedy Kumbong later fixed bail at RM1.5 million with two sureties, and ordered Teo to report to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) every Saturday.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Tengku Amir Zaki Tengku Abdul Rahman had argued that the offence was non-bailable.

He said the case was of public interest as it involved the biggest cash seizure in the country done by the commission.

Teo, who was represented by lawyers Hamid Ismail and Roland Cheng, argued that he had in the past given his full cooperation to the MACC and has never failed to turn up each time he was being called for questioning.

Mr Hamid asked for bail to be set at RM1 million and offered for Teo to surrender his passport.

The case made headlines in October last year after MACC investigators, in the anti-graft agency’s biggest-ever seizure in its 49-year history, recovered some RM114 million, including RM53.7 million in cash from the offices and homes of three SWD senior officials — including Teo’s — which took more than 30 officers 15 hours to count.

They also seized 19.3kg of jewellery, 94 handbags and foreign currency, along with nine luxury cars, watches, and 127 land grants. The MACC also took statements from some 200 people.

Of the RM53.7 million in cash seized, RM7 million was attributed to Teo while the remainder was said to be taken from former director Ag Mohd Tahir Ag Talib.

On December 29, Ag Mohd Tahir, 54, his wife, and another former SWD deputy director, Lim Lam Peng, were charged with 37 counts of misappropriating infrastructure funds.

All pleaded not guilty. After a series of delays and postponements, their trial is expected to take place on February 21 next year.

A special task force involving 70 MACC personnel has been working on the case since 2016. According to the year-long investigation, the men abused their power by awarding federal-approved infrastructure projects worth some RM3.3 billion under their purview to companies belonging to their family members since 2010.

The RM3.3 billion was meant to improve the water supply to Sabah residents, including those living in remote areas. AGENCIES