PETALING JAYA: Police have wrapped up investigations into the alleged misuse of Selangor exco Ronnie Liu's letterhead and seal in letters of support purportedly used by Klang municipal councillor Tee Boon Hock to obtain contracts for his cronies and family.
The investigation papers have been handed over to the Attorney-General's Chambers to decide if anyone will be charged over the matter.
On July 31, Tee was sacked by the DAP disciplinary committee for the alleged offence. This Thursday, Liu himself will be facing the disciplinary committee to explain the issue as Tee claimed that he had acted on Liu's orders.
Due to face the committee is also Selangor speaker Teng Chang Khim, who posted the controversial "OMG! real culprit freed" tweet following Tee's sacking.
"We have completed investigations and have sent our case files over to the state prosecution department, which will then hand it to Putrajaya to decide on the case.
"We await further instructions on whether there is anything else to clarify or whether anyone will be charged," said Selangor commercial crime investigation department deputy chief Supt Mohd Sakri Arifin.
However, Mohd Sakri revealed that police investigations into the case focused on fraud and not corruption, as the case was classified under Section 468 and 471 of the Penal Code, which was for forgery (for the purpose of cheating) and using (as genuine) a forged document.
Asked if the case will be referred to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Mohd Sakri said he was unsure but it was possible that the MACC could continue investigations if so instructed by the DPP.
Internal power struggle
Investigations into Liu's letters of support were spurred by three police reports, two lodged by MCA members, which called on the police to investigate the scandal based on media reports. Several witnesses were called in, including Liu and Tee, to have their statements taken.
Over the past few weeks, Selangor DAP was in the headlines for an alleged internal power struggle between rival factions within the party -- the letterhead fiasco is believed to be an extension of the struggle.
It was reported that Tee, the former Selangor DAP organising secretary and special assistant to Liu, was alleged to have secured contracts worth more than RM1 million for some 20 companies and one for his own son with letters of support with Liu's letterhead.
Tee, a councillor since 2008, had maintained that he had acted with Liu's blessings and also vehemently denied knowledge of his son's directorship.
Today, media reports revealed two new letters of support apparently signed by Liu in 2008 and 2009 to support several companies for jobs worth some RM1 million.
The emergence of these letters could potentially exonerate Tee, as it seemd to indicate that Liu had already given Tee's son the greenlight even before Tee himself "issued" the said letter of support in August 2008.
Following this, Liu -- the Pandamaran state assemblyman -- suspended three aides and has removed all letterheads and seals from his service centre in Pandamaran.
The controversy has also prompted several quarters in the Pakatan-led Selangor government to call for an end to the culture of issuing support letters, a practice said to be a remnant of Barisan Nasional's rule.
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