KUALA LUMPUR: Former Sabah infrastructure development minister Datuk Peter Anthony (pic), who is charged with falsifying a letter from the office of the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) deputy vice-chancellor for a system maintenance contract, will know his fate on Thursday (May 26).

       Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi is scheduled to read out the verdict at the end of the defence case at 9am.

       On Feb 18, the defence team closed its case after calling three witnesses, including the accused, in the proceedings which began on Feb 9.

       The other two defence witnesses called to testify were his personal assistant Imy Christopher, 36, and digital forensics manager Nurul Aiman ？？Azmail, 34.

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       At the prosecution stage, a total of 15 witnesses including former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah and former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi who was appointed UMS board of directors chairman from April 3, 2013 to July 31, 2018, were called to testify at the trial which began on April 5 last year.

       On Dec 14, the court ordered Peter, 51, to enter his defence after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against him.

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       According to the charge, Peter as the managing director of Syarikat Asli Jati had allegedly forged a letter from the office of the deputy VC dated June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement with the intention of using it for fraudulent purposes.

       The former vice president of Parti Warisan was accused of committing the offence at the office of the principal private secretary to the prime minister at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and August 21, 2014.

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       The charge was framed under Section 468 of the Penal Code for forging a document for the purpose of cheating which provides for imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine, if found guilty.

       The prosecution was conducted by DPP Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin along with Haresh Prakash Somiah and Francine Cheryl Rajendram, while Peter was represented by lawyer S. Devanandan. – Bernama