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.