Bungalow bought at discounted price as owner needed money urgently, says Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR - Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the High Court today that two bungalow units in Country Heights, Kajang, were bought at a discount of RM5.9 million because the owner, housing developer tycoon Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, needed money urgently.

Zahid, 69, said that Lee, who is the founder and chairman of Country Heights Holdings Berhad, offered to sell the bungalow below the market price because he was having trouble paying his income tax.

"This offer (price) is from Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, the owner of Country Heights. He desperately needed the money, which was why he sold it below market price.

"He was having trouble paying income tax, that's why the time given to us was very short and the discount price was given to Yayasan Akalbudi (YAB)," he said.

He said this when referred by deputy public prosecutor, Harris Ong Mohd Jeffery Ong, to the ledger of YAB's trustee, Messrs Lewis & Co, which recorded that the law firm deposited RM2 million into a fixed deposit account on Nov 30, 2016, and RM5 million on Dec 9 in the same year. - Bernama

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