KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — The hearing of an application by former Sabah Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Peter Anthony to stay his conviction for falsifying a letter on contract work at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) has been postponed to July 28.

Deputy public prosecutor Haresh Prakash Somiah told reporters that the postponement was due to Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi being on emergency leave today.

Peter filed the application pending the outcome of his appeal to the High Court on the grounds of contesting in the coming 15th General Election.

In the application, Peter as the applicant said the conviction would jeopardise his nomination for a parliamentary seat in the general election.

On May 26, the Sessions Court sentenced Peter to three years imprisonment and a fine of RM50,000 after he was found guilty of forging a letter for a Mechanical and Electrical Systems (M&E) maintenance work at UMS.

Judge Azura also ordered Peter, 51, to serve a 15-month jail sentence if he failed to pay the fine.

She also allowed a stay of execution of the jail sentence pending an appeal at the High Court, but ordered the RM50,000 fine to be paid on that day (May 26).

Peter was charged in his capacity as managing director of Syarikat Asli Jati Sdn Bhd with forging a letter from the office of UMS Deputy Vice-Chancellor, dated June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement with the intention of using it for fraudulent purposes.

The offence was allegedly committed at the office of the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and August 21, 2014.

The charge was framed under Section 468 of the Penal Code which provides an imprisonment for up to seven years and a fine, upon conviction. — Bernama