KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — The hearing of former Sabah Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Peter Anthony’s case on using false documents has been postponed to May 3 as he has been found to be a close contact of a Covid-19 patient and ordered to be in self-quarantine.
His lawyer, Datuk D. Senthinathan, told the court that Peter had been ordered to be in quarantine for 10 days from April 16 to 26 and requested the court to postpone today’s hearing.
Today was supposed to be the fifth day hearing of the case, where ninth prosecution witness, former ULink Property Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Abdullah Mohd Said, would continue his testimony.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin did not object to it, but for the court’s record said that five witnesses from Sabah were at the court to testify today.
Judge Azura Alwi then set May 3, 4 and 19, July 26 and 27, Aug 23 and 27, Sept 29 and 30, Oct 28 and 29 and Nov 15 and 16 as the new dates for the hearing.
Peter, 50, was charged as the managing director of Asli Jati Sdn Bhd with falsifying a letter from the Office of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Vice-Chancellor, dated June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement in the title of the letter with the intention of using it to deceive the office of the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister at the Perdana Putra Building in Putrajaya between June 13, 2014, and Aug 21, 2014.
He also faced an alternative charge as the managing director of Asli Jati Sdn Bhd with using a false document as genuine, namely a letter from the office of the deputy vice-chancellor of UMS dated June 9, 2014, which had a false statement in the title of the letter, and he had reason to believe that the document is false, at the same place and time.
Peter was charged under Section 468 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine and under Section 471 of the Penal Code and is punishable under Section 465 of the same code which carries a jail term of up to two years, or a fine, or both, if convicted. — Bernama
