Govt S Rm254mil Suit Against Nfc To Continue On Jan 24

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Mohamad Salleh Ismail, the husband of former minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, and their three children are the co-defendants along with National Feedlot Corporation. (Bernama pic)KUALA LUMPUR: National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) is calling four witnesses in its defence against the Malaysian government’s suit to recover from the company RM253.6 million in loan payments and interests in connection with the National Feedlot Centre in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan.
Lawyer Chong Kah Yee, representing NFC, said one of the defendant’s witnesses, auditor Andrew Heng, had completed his testimony before judicial commissioner Anand Ponnudurai on March 17.
“The court has set Jan 24 to 28 next year to resume the trial and we will present four more witnesses to testify,” he said.
Senior federal counsel Azizan Md Arshad, representing the government, said the trial had commenced on Jan 13 last year and the plaintiffs had closed their case on March 17 after calling seven witnesses to testify.
NFC is managed by the husband and three children of former women, family and community development minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
In its claim, the government as the sole plaintiff, named the NFC as the first defendant, while Shahrizat’s husband, Mohamad Salleh Ismail, and their three children, Wan Shahinur Izran, Wan Shahinur Izmir and Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah, are the second to fifth defendants, respectively.
Other defendants are six companies controlled by Mohamad Salleh’s family, comprising National Meat & Livestock Corporation Sdn Bhd, Real Food Corporation Sdn Bhd, Meatworks Corporation Sdn Bhd, Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd, Asian Bioscience Corporation Sdn Bhd, and Techknowlogy Imageware (M) Sdn Bhd.
The government signed a loan agreement for a total of RM250 million with NFC on Dec 6, 2007 to finance the costs of establishing and operating a National Feedlot Centre in Gemas as part of its policy to develop and increase beef production.
The loan was disbursed in three separate tranches and Mohamad Salleh’s family had made 10 withdrawals amounting to RM180.51 million from Jan 24, 2008 to Jan 3, 2011. - FMT

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