But rubbished allegations that he acted in a corrupt manner in handling the case
Former Attorney-General Tommy Thomas admits reducing the drug-related charges involving tycoon Vincent Tan’s son when he was in office.
In a statement Saturday (19 Feb), Thomas rubbished allegations that he acted in a corrupt manner in handling the case.
“It is usual in criminal matters for lawyers of the accused to submit written representations to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to reconsider the decision to charge.
“Having studied the representations and the investigation papers, reviewing the relevant provisions and discussion with the case officers, I recall reducing the charges,” he admits.
Adding on further, Thomas said receiving representations from lawyers and accused, and reducing or dropping charges thereafter are common occurrences in AGC but at the moment he could not provide any further details of the case.
“I have no access to any documents, record or file maintained by those who prepared the investigation papers so I could not provide any further details of the case.
“Malaysians must rest assured that throughout my professional career and in my personal life, I have never paid a bribe. During my stint as a public officer, I never received a bribe,” he said.
Thomas said integrity, honesty and truth are precious values to him and have never compromised them.
“The allegation that I was bribed when I took this decision is therefore vigorously denied,” he said.
Thomas rebuttal comes after Twitter account Edisi Khas, claimed that although Tan’s son was arrested under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act for being involved in a very large quantity of drugs, the case was classified as an NFA (no further action) by Thomas.
“The allegation that I was corrupt in the context of the Edisi Khas post simply meant that I was bribed.
“I had never known Tan prior to my appointment and neither had I acted for him or any of his companies,” Thomas said adding he had also not represented the tycoon since he returned to practice after he quit as attorney-general.
Thomas pointed out that the timing and vileness of this attack on his integrity are linked to Roger Ng’s 1MDB trial that just commenced in New York, involving fraudulent use of monies belonging to Malaysia.
“Our politicians and personalities will be featured when evidence unfolds during this trial, which has received worldwide media coverage. Against this background, I am an easy target and a convenient digression,” he said. – New Malaysia Herald
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