FORMER Sabah infrastructure development minister Peter Anthony has been convicted of falsifying a letter for a system maintenance contract.

Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi found Anthony guilty this morning after ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, with sentencing following submissions from prosecution and defence teams.

According to the facts of the case, Anthony – as the managing director of Syarikat Asli Jati – forged a letter supposedly from the deputy vice-chancellor’s office of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) dated June 9, 2014.

The former vice president of Parti Warisan Sabah was accused of committing the offence at the office of the principal private secretary to the prime minister at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and August 21, 2014.

The charge was framed under section 468 of the penal code for forging a document for the purpose of cheating, which provides an imprisonment for up to seven years and fine, if found guilty.

The prosecution called 15 witnesses, including former prime minister Najib Razak, former treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah and former chief justice Zaki Azmi, who was UMS chairman from April 3, 2013, to July 31, 2018.

On December 14, 2021, the court ordered Peter, 51, to enter his defence after finding that the prosecution had succeeded established a case against him.

On February 18, the defence team closed its case after calling three witnesses, including Anthony.

The other two defence witnesses called to testify were Anthony’s personal assistant, Imy Christopher, 36, and digital forensics manager at Siaga Informatics Sdn Bhd, Nurul Aiman Azmail, 34.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin along with Haresh Prakash Somiah and Francine Cheryl Rajendram, while Anthony was represented by lawyer S. Devanandan. – May 26, 2022.