Bandar Seri Begawan - In The ongoing high-profile corruption trial of a former Minister of Development, the defendant yesterday claimed that a development project in Kg Katok was a personal venture and not a government project that he directed in his position as the Minister of Development or as Istana Project Supervisor (IPS), a position that the ex-Minister held at the same time.

The venture, he said, was with Wong Tim Kai, managing director of TED Sdn Bhd, the same company under scrutiny in the trial.

The former minister, YAM Pg Indera Wijaya Pg Dato Dr Hj Ismail Pg Hj Damit, is facing charges of corruptly awarding development projects to TED totalling about $100 million in exchange for "gratifications" of personal benefit.

Co-defendant Wong faces charges of abetting the crimes.

In his statement read before the High Court, YAM Pg Indera Wijaya Pg Dato Dr Hj Ismail Pg Hj Damit yesterday said that he had given Wong a power of attorney over the land at Lot 33999 in Kg Katok in his personal capacity as it was a personal venture.

"It was a personal venture to develop the area led by Wong Tim Kai as the developer by giving the houses and land to be developed by him," Dr Hj Ismail said.

He explained to the court that a bank loan had been taken under his name and he was legally charged to the bank to buy and develop the land.

The former minister added, "...the loan was taken from Malayan Bank but the development was not carried out on time due to the long process it took to change the land condition from agriculture to housing so as to enable the proper housing construction to proceed."

Due to the delay, Dr Hj Ismail said, the loan was transferred on February 28, 1995 to Baiduri Bank, whereby Dr Hj Ismail was made guarantor for $1.3 million over the loan.

A letter from Baiduri Bank dated August 21, 1997 was presented before the High Court. The letter included a personal guarantee that the loan repayments would initially come from the sales proceeds of the 18 houses in the project followed by the sales proceeds of six additional shophouses included in the project.

"T gave Wong Tim Kai the power of attorney over the first 18 houses sometime in 1997 in order to obtain the banking facilities. Eventually, I also gave power of attorney over the remaining six houses in the venture to Wong Tim Kai sometime in 1999. Again, this was to secure the banking facilities with Baiduri Bank," he said.

Dr Hj Ismail said that in a progress report made by Wong at the time, Wong explained to him that the property market was going down and that he had problems recovering the money spent on building the 18 houses.

When Dr Hj Ismail heard about the problem, he said, he told Wong to sell the six houses in the hope of recovering expenses incurred.

Dr Hj Ismail said he believed that the money from the six houses sold would be enough to cover all the expenses to develop the land.

He added that Wong did not mention to him that the money was not enough.

Speaking on shophouses at Unit 9 in Kg Kiarong, also under scrutiny in the trial, Dr Hj Ismail said that he had made initial payments for the purchase of the shophouses from cash gifts received from the late 1980s to the late 1990s.

"I paid $300,000 in cash to Wong Tim Kai in my house as the initial payment. Wong acknowledged the payment on a plain piece of paper," Dr Hj Ismail said.

At the time, his daughter, Dyg Suzylawati Pg Dato Ismail, had signed the necessary sale and purchase agreement and had submitted a bank loan under her name, he said.

"I was offered this shop-house when it was nearing completion. It occurred to me to give this to my daughter as a form of an investment for her as she was graduating," he said.

Dr Hj Ismail said the rent from the shophouse would be sufficient to pay the monthly instalments on the Baiduri Bank loan, adding that the proposed monthly rental of each shophouse of $5,000 was agreed to by Wong, considering that properties at that time were "booming".

The trial continues today. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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