‘Blackhole’ case: High Court sets aside subpoena on Soon Koh to testify as witness

Photo shows the Kuching Court Complex. — Photo by Chimon Upon

KUCHING (July 3): The High Court here has set aside DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s subpoena on former state’s second finance minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh to testify as witness in the ‘Blackhole’ case, as the evidence would have been irrelevant to what has been pleaded by the litigants during the trial hearing earlier.

Chong is the defendant in the case, while Sarawak government and the State Financial Authority (SFA) are the plaintiffs.

Judicial Commissioner of the High Court of Sarawak, Alexander Siew, said the intended witness was being called to give evidence on matters that had not been pleaded and also, where the Court had dismissed the defendant’s application twice to amend his defence to include such matters.

“If this defendant is being called on matters that have been pleaded, it would be a different story,” said Siew in court yesterday, adding that it would be an abuse of process by the defendant to have a subpoena issued on a witness to testify on matters that the court had already ruled.

In his submission, State Legal Counsel Dato Sri JC Fong pointed out that the reason why Chong had to call Wong as a witness was because of his (Wong’s) statement in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) about the part of the trust fund used for two projects – the new DUN Complex and the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK).

However, the plaintiffs had never denied about the statement being made in the DUN, said Fong.

“So, we’re astonished that the defendant wants to call this witness pertaining to what he (Wong) had said in the Dewan (DUN), which the plaintiffs do not dispute.

“This issue on the award of the contracts is irrelevant to the subject matter in dispute.

“It is our respectful submission that calling this witness is an attempt to prolong the trial or the close of the defendant’s case.

“Therefore we respectfully submit that this process of issuing this subpoena is an abuse of the process of court,” stressed Fong.

The High Court adjourned the trial hearing to this Monday.

Chong, who is Stampin MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman, is being sued by the Sarawak state government and SFA for defamation because in 2013, Chong had insinuated that RM11 billion had gone missing from the state coffers and channelled into several crony companies of the then-Barisan Nasional (BN) Sarawak-led state government.

Chong had used the term ‘Blackhole’ to allege where the money had gone missing into.

from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3hclkBe
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