KUALA LUMPUR: A witness told the Sessions Court here today that a company linked to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan had transferred RM78,800 to an automotive company two years ago to purchase a pickup truck.
Low Mong Tuan, who is the banking services manager of Public Bank Bhd's Jalan Sultan Sulaiman branch, said Wan Saiful & Associates Sdn Bhd had transferred the funds to Tagami Auto Enterprise Sdn Bhd via money transfer on Aug 12, 2022.
Low, who previously served at the bank's Sungai Chua Branch, said the account was opened under the name Tagami Auto Enterprise at the branch on Jan 7, 2008.
He said there were two authorised signatories for the account, namely Yet Kam Looi and Thin Poh Sin. The account, he said, required only one of the two signatures.
Low was testifying at the Wan Saiful's corruption trial involving the alleged abuse of Jana Wibawa funds.
Wan Saiful, as the director of WA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd, was accused of transferring RM78,800, derived from illegal activities, from the company's CIMB Bank account to Tagami Auto Enterprise Sdn Bhd's Public Bank account as payment for the purchase of a Ford Ranger pickup truck.
Wan Saiful's counsel, Chetan Jethwani, asked Low if he knew at the time that the transaction was deemed suspicious, to which Low replied in the negative.
To a question from deputy public prosecutor Rasyidah Murni Adzmi Low said he only realised it when he received an email from the head office, stating that documents related to the transaction needed to be provided to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
"It was only after the investigator interviewed me that I became aware," he said.
Earlier, Mohamad Norazman Md Salleh, who is Bank Rakyat's Seberang Jaya assistant branch manager, testified that WSA Advisory Group had transferred RM36,550 to Pertubuhan Penggerak Muafakat Bagan Seberang Perai Utara on Oct 10, 2022.
He concurred with defence counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad that MACC investigators never inquired about any suspicious transactions involving Pertubuhan Penggerak Muafakat Bagan Seberang Perai Utara.
Wan Saiful also faces a charge of transferring RM36,550, derived from illegal activities, from the CIMB Bank account of WSA Advisory Group to the Bank Rakyat account of Pertubuhan Penggerak Muafakat Bagan Seberang Perai Utara.
Wan Saiful is charged with soliciting a bribe from one Lian Tan Chuan as an inducement for him to help a company, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, secure the RM232 million Central Spine Road: Sertik to East Coast Expressway Interchange project from the federal government.
Wan Saiful is charged with receiving RM6,962,694.54, which was transferred from a Maybank Islamic Bhd account owned by Nepturis Sdn Bhd, into a CIMB Bank Bhd account held by his company, WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd, as a reward for helping the company obtain a letter of acceptance for the project.
He was accused of committing both offences at the Royal Lake Club in Taman Tasik Perdana here, in April last year and at CIMB Bank's Bukit Tunku branch between July 8 and Sept 30 last year.
Wan Saiful is also facing 18 charges of money laundering involving RM5.59 million, which include the transfer and use of proceeds from illegal activities for purposes such as purchasing a Ford Ranger vehicle, making payments to the National Sports Council of Malaysia, and transferring funds to various company accounts, including those of Sinar Karangkraf Sdn Bhd.
The trial before judge Rozina Ayob continues.
