New evidence suggests conspiracy in RM40mil land deal scandal

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The state government has found fresh evidence suggesting conspiracy in a land deal scandal that cost it RM40 million after they were sued by a quarry operator, Penang Deputy Chief Minister (II) Prof Dr P. Ramasamy said today.


Dr P. Ramasamy

He said a state-appointed committee to investigate the wrongful transaction of a private land by the Penang government to Tang Hak Ju had unearthed a crucial letter that suggested Tang had known beforehand that the land did not belong to the state.

"From the information we have got, there is additional evidence that has not been investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)," he said, after submitting the committee’s findings to MACC officials at his office yesterday (25 Nov 2009).

Tang had applied to the state government for the land in Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) in 2002 to extract rocks for quarrying purposes.

The state executive council approved the application after verifying with the SPT District and Land Office that the lots were owned by the state.

When the original landowner found out and complained, the state investigated and found that the two plots were under the Hock Teik Cheng Sin temple and the Hokkien Hoay Kuan Province Wellesley Association.

The titles issued to Tang were then cancelled in 2004.

Tang sued the state the following year for losses and the High Court awarded him RM29.36 million, plus interests dating back to Jan. 24, 2005.

The new state government that took power in March 2008 then formed a committee to look into the matter, and received feedback from the original private landowners that Tang may have known early on that the land did not belong to the state.

"We feel there may have been a deliberate attempt to cheat the state," Ramasamy said.

He said the land office’s search to verify the land status appeared to have been shoddy.

Showing a letter dated Jan 20, 1994, signed by a ’Tang Hoe Joo’ to the Hokkien Clan Association (Hokkien Hoay Kuan) to buy stones from the land, Ramasamy said the state had received feedback that the signatory was likely to be Tang Hak Ju himself.

"This is new evidence. We are asking the MACC to look into possibility of a conspiracy that this individual had planned this and cheated the state government," he added - Agencies.

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