Rosli Dahlan was fixed up, court told

By Beh Kay Hieng  |  freemalaysiatoday | KUALA LUMPUR: 

Lawyer Datuk K. Kumarendran insisted in the Sessions Court today that the notice served on his client Rosli Dahlan was a “fix up.”

Kumarendran argued that the notice was of “malicious intent” and the witnesses involved were not credible. The notice should therefore not have been issued, he added.

He said the notice was issued on the bases of a witness’s statement and bank reports and that these were insufficient to warrant it.

That the bank statements showed withdrawals from an account did not automatically mean that the money went to former Commercial Crime Investigations Department Director Datuk Ramli Yusuf, he said.

Yesterday, Kumaraendran had challenged the prosecution to “show reasonable grounds” for the charge against Rosli, who was Ramli’s lawyer.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zulqarnain Hassan said the case was not about the notice itself but Rosli’s failure to respond to the notice issued by the court to declare his assets.

After hearing this afternoon’s  arguments, Judge Abu Bakar Katar said a decision on the issue would be made tomorrow, when hearing resumes.

Earlier, the court was told that Rosli, 48, was only a witness and not a suspect in the corruption investigations in which the former CCID director was the suspect.

The second prosecution witness, DPP Anthony Kevin Morais,  under questioning by Zulqarnain, told the court he received information which led him to believe that Ramli was on the take.

He said Rosli had had a close relationship with Ramli since their university days and had acted as lawyer for the latter in various matters.

After Morias’ testimony,  Kumarendran  asked  for a break before cross-examination to allow him time to get notes from another court where Morais had given his evidence on the same points in Ramli’s trial.

When the case resumed after lunch, Kumareandran  raised the point about the fix up against Rosli.

Rosli has pleaded not guilty to failing to declare his assets to the then Anti-Corruption Agency. The case has attracted much attention, with many alleging that it is a high level conspiracy involving the police and the government administration.

Raja Petra of Malaysia Today has linked the case to various allegations he has made against Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan, including his alleged links with the Chinese underworld.