“Land improprieties” under probe

Land fraud cases took place in 2003, says CM

(The Star) - PENANG: The “land improprieties” involving “tens and tens of millions of ringgit” here which is under probe by a special state exco committee occurred back in 2003, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He said although the previous state administration and the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) had completed investigation into the matter, the present administration was not happy with the outcome of the probe.

“There are many parties involved,” he told a press conference yesterday.

In a related development, former Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon’s political secretary Mark Ooi said the previous state administration had “initiated investigations and taken some action on land fraud cases” which were repeatedly mentioned by Lim and reported in the press.

He said a task force was established because Dr Koh was not satisfied with the outcome of an earlier round of investigations conducted internally by the state administration and the ACA which “identified certain weaknesses in the procedure and documentation but could not confirm any wrongdoing.”

“The task force was in the process of getting more information and exploring avenues to resolve the matter when Parliament and state legislative assembly were dissolved on Feb 13,” Ooi said in a press release yesterday.