Ramkarpal Singh speaks to reporters outside the Dang Wangi police station in Kuala Lumpur on June 20, 2018. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Ramkarpal Singh has lashed out at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for saying it was “very shocked” by the acquittal of his client Lim Guan Eng on corruption charges today.

“It is ridiculous for the MACC to claim ignorance of today’s development when the director of its own legal and prosecution division, Mohd Masri Daud informed the court that he was withdrawing the said charges.

“I was in court this morning with other counsels for both accused persons and there was not a hint of dissatisfaction from Masri or his team reflecting MACC’s said claim,” he said in a statement.

Lim, who is the Finance Minister, and businesswoman Phang Li Koon were acquitted by the High Court in Penang today on corruption charges over the purchase of a bungalow below the market value while Lim was the Penang chief minister.

MACC said in a statement after the acquittal that it was “very shocked” by the court decision, adding: “MACC would like to stress that the decision to withdraw the case was decided by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and not from MACC.”

Ramkarpal, who is also a lawyer, said Judge Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who presided over the case, was right to have acquitted both Lim and Phang as this is consistent with recent trends.

He referred to the National Feedlot Corporation executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, the husband of former Umno Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who was acquitted in 2015 over two charges of criminal breach of trust involving some RM49.7 million after the prosecution informed the court that it did not wish to pursue the matter.

“In this case, both accused persons had submitted extensive and detailed representations to the Attorney-General (AG) as to why the charges ought to have been withdrawn which were considered before today’s development,” said Ramkarpal.

“The learned judge exercised the powers vested in her by ordering an acquittal as opposed to a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

“There was absolutely no error on her part in doing so, particularly when the prosecution itself indicated that it did not wish to proceed,” he added.

Ramkarpal said MACC’s statement that it is shocked implies that Masri was not aware of the AG’s decision to withdraw the charges, adding that Masri should clear the air and confirm that he surely did.

In the proceedings this morning, Hadhariah said she did not agree with the prosecution’s request for the charges to be withdrawn and both accused to be discharged not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).

“The charges cannot be hanging over the head of the accused indefinitely. There must be a finality in this case. I cannot agree with the prosecution. We do not conduct cases on an instalment basis. There must be a stop, no coma, especially in criminal cases.

“After studying the case as a whole and the very long time to get a decision, I order that both the accused be discharged and acquitted,” she said.

Before she made the order, Hadhariah said so far the prosecution had called 25 witnesses to testify in the trial last March and now in September the prosecution had asked the case to be DNAA.

“Six months later, the prosecution may call for other witnesses. There is no such thing especially in public interest case. If the prosecution requests for DNAA, the court too cannot close the case,” she said.