The other two were Steven Abok, chief operating officer of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the turnkey contractor of the project, and architect Bernard Tan Seng Swee of BTA Architect, the project consultant.All three pleaded not guilty before judge Yong Zaridah Sazali. Prosecution was done by deputy public prosecutors Manoj Kurup, Dzulkifli Ahmad and Hashley Tajudin.
The trio were brought to the court at about 1.55pm after they were arrested earlier today. Phang wore a turqoise coloured dress while Abok and Tan wore face masks.
Phang, represented by Ng Aik Guan, faced three charges of CBT amounting to RM254.85 million. She was granted a RM350,000 bail, with one surety. The case will start on Jan 12, on which date Phang has been asked to surrender her passport.
Abok and Tan were jointly charged with two counts making false claims involving a total sum of RM5.417 million.Tan is also charged with together with another person still at large with 24 counts of making false claims involving a total sum of RM122.267 million.
They claimed trial over the charges and bail was set at RM250,000 for Tan and RM200,000 for Abok, both with a surety each. Their case will be mentioned on Feb 4.
Lawyer Tan Hock Chuan appeared for Abok while George Varghese represented Tan.
Ex-transport minister also named
The PKFZ controversy arose after the cost to develop the massive 400-hectare integrated cargo distribution hub spiralled from RM2 billion to RM4.6 billion.
Phang, a former civil servant, was the first woman to head PKA. She helmed the authority from 2001 until last year.
Phang was blamed for the ballooning cost of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project. She was accompanied by husband and daughter to the court.A parliamentary probe by the Public Accounts Committee last month had recommended that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and police investigate Phang and former transport minister Chan Kong Choy, who held the portfolio from 2003 to 2008, for criminal breach of trust over the scandal.
The PAC probe also highlighted that certain procedures were carried out without the authorisation of the finance ministry.
The report said the PAC was informed by the Attorney-General that three support letters issued by Chan and three letters of undertaking issued by Phang were implicitly a form of guarantee from the government to ensure that there would be allocations for PKA to enable it to meet its obligations under the development agreement.
PKA has since filed over a billion ringgit worth of suits against Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd and BTA Architects and also sued Phang for breach of duties.
Police have frozen several bank accounts of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd.
The government has also set up an 11-member special taskforce headed by Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Sidek Hassan to determine misconduct and to restore the project.
[With additional reporting by Yip Ai Tsin]
Earlier today former Port Klang Authority (PKA) general manager OC Phang and two others were charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT) and making false claims in the Klang Sessions Court.Abdul Gani said in a statement that the action taken against the three today was a result of joint effort put in by the AG Chamber with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in the past few months.
"There are lots of issues involved - legal and factual, which are not only complex but require substantial amount of evidence gathering," he said.
He added that as a result of the joint effort by the three agencies, Phang, chief operating officer of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd which was the turnkey contractor of the project Steven Abok and architect Bernard Tan Seng Swee of BTA Architect were charged this morning.
Engineer to face charges on Monday
An engineer with Kuala Dimensi, Law Jenn Dong will be charged on Monday with making false claims involving a total sum of RM122.267 million. He is alleged to have committed the offence with Tan.
"They must be made answerable for their roles and actions. I decided to prefer charges against these individuals today as I could not wait for the authorities to complete their investigations into the whole scheme as that would take a long time.
"The charging of other individuals will come in stages," promised the AG.
Phang was charged with CBT amounting to RM254 million to which she claimed trial. She was granted a RM350,000 bail, with one surety. The case will start on Jan 12, on which date she has been asked to surrender her passport.
Abok and Tan meanwhile were jointly charged with two counts making false claims involving a total sum of RM5.417 million.
Tan was also charged with together with another person still at large (Law Jenn Dong) with 24 counts of making false claims involving a total sum of RM122.267 million.
They claimed trial over the charges and bail was set at RM250,000 for Tan and RM200,000 for Abok, both with a surety each. Their case will be mentioned on Feb 4.
Lawyer Tan Hock Chuan appeared for Abok while George Varghese represented Tan.
Anwar: Go for the big sharks too
The PKFZ controversy arose after the cost to develop the massive 400-hectare integrated cargo distribution hub spiralled from RM2 billion to RM4.6 billion.
Meanwhile Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim today welcomed the case preferred against the trio but added that the bigger players should not be allowed to escape.
"We welcome this although it is a small move. I hope this is not the beginning of a cover-up on the issue," he told reporters in Parliament.
DAP leader Lim Kit Siang also urged the authorities to start preferring charges against the main persons behind the PKFZ's failure.
Ong Tee Keat: Job not done yet
Meanwhile Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat, who was pivotal in probing the PKFZ scandal, said the decision to charge was an indication that the government does not take such scandals lightly.
"It also proves that the government walks the talk when it comes to upholding accountability and transparency... today's decision to charge three individuals show the government does not cover up wrongdoings," he wrote in his blog from Hanoi where he is attending Asean Transport Ministers' meeting.
He also said that his work in regards to PKFZ was not completed "just because a few people have been hauled up in court".
"We need to work closely to resolve outstanding administration and operational issues at the PKA and PKFZ levels.
"PKA would work very closely with the PKFZ super taskforce to ensure that the eventual results of the entire exercise will bring about positive results which are in the best interests of the public," he said.
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