KOTA KINABALU: A businessman told the Special Corruption Court that the cash he handed to former Sabah Water Department (JANS) director Ag Tahir Mohd Talib was given merely as a “return thanks” and not as profit shares.
Wong Kok Vui @ Michael, 71, rejected defence counsel Datuk Ansari Abdullah’s suggestion that he acted as Ag Tahir’s proxy or that he had sought RM500,000 in cash from a colleague on the former director’s behalf.
He said the payments were meant to maintain good ties so he could continue securing future work, although he acknowledged that Ag Tahir was not involved in preparing, opening or deciding tenders at the divisional or district levels where his bids were processed.
Wong also told Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission prosecutors that most of his projects between 2004 and 2016 were awarded through local tender committees and that he had never discussed commission deductions allegedly requested by another officer, Teo.
Former director Ag Tahir, his wife Fauziah Ag Piut and ex-deputy director Lim Lam Beng are on trial for money-laundering charges involving RM61.57 million and the unlawful possession of luxury goods, with the hearing set to resume on Jan 14–16, 2026.
