SIX criminal prosecutions in eight years over the scandal-ridden Port Klang Free Zone project with nothing to show for it is difficult enough to fathom. But to add insult to injury, on Jan 13, the Federal Court threw out the prosecution’s bid to seize RM37.8 million worth of cash and properties involving the purported ill-gotten gains from the cost overruns that caused the PKFZ’s development cost to hit RM7.86 billion from an initial estimate of RM2 billion.
The apex court dismissed the prosecution’s appeal on the grounds that it had failed to relate how the purported breaches of the law led to Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) the owner and main contractor of the project and its then CEO and Member of Parliament for Bintulu Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing acquiring the properties and cash.
BETWEEN Nov 30 and Dec 4, notable filings at Bursa Malaysia listed companies included that at
Bonia Corp Bhd, which saw Milingtonia Ltd ceasing to be a substantial shareholder after disposing of 16.18 million shares.
During the same week, Freeway Team Sdn Bhd, which is linked to Bonia’s founder and group executive chairman Chiang Sang Sem, acquired 400,000 shares. Post-acquisition, Chiang’s indirect stake in Bonia increased to 54.22%.
Bonia recently announced a 35.6% growth in net profit to RM5.36 million for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2020, compared with the previous corresponding period. This was despite lower revenue of RM78.02 million against RM94.11 million a year ago.