©New
Straits Times (Used by permission)
by Anis Ibrahim
KUALA LUMPUR: Former chief justice Tun Eusoff Chin said lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam
had "tagged along" while he was on holiday with his family in New Zealand in
1994.
Giving evidence before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into
the Lingam clip, Eusoff said he had "accidentally bumped into" the lawyer at
Singapore's Changi Airport.
"I went on holiday with my wife and two children in December 1994 and at the
airport, I bumped into Lingam," he said yesterday.
"He asked me where I was going and he said he wanted to tag along. I cannot help
it if people want to follow me, how am I to control that?"
Counsel for the Malaysian Bar Ranjit Singh had earlier tendered a newspaper
clipping of TheSun dated June 7, 2000 on a trip to New Zealand which Eusoff and
Lingam had allegedly taken together.
Ranjit also tendered as evidence the flight itinerary
prepared by Holiday Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd, which set out the flight details for
Eusoff (then Tan Sri), his wife (then Puan Sri) Rosaini Mustaffa and their
children Zubaidah and Johan.
"Based on your itinerary, you spent three to four days in Auckland. Did V.K.
Lingam tag along the whole time you were in Auckland?" Ranjit asked.
"Yes," Eusoff replied, barely audible.
Eusoff, 72, was chief justice from September 1994 to December 2000.
He came under fire before his retirement when the holiday snaps of Lingam and
him were circulated on the Internet.
Eusoff was not legally represented at the hearing.
Ranjit began by asking about Eusoff's relationship with Lingam.
Ranjit: You told (inquiry officer) Datuk Nordin Hassan earlier that V.K. Lingam
was just an acquaintance. Would you then say your relationship with him was a
normal relationship between a judge and a lawyer?
Eusoff That's right.
Ranjit: Referring to a news cutting of TheSun on June 7, 2000, did you make
those statements printed in the newspaper?
Eusoff Well, I gave some press statements but I can't remember exactly. I went
on a holiday with my wife and two children in December 1994 and at the airport,
I bumped into Lingam.
Ranjit: Was anyone with him?
Eusoff He was with his wife and two children.
Ranjit: (referring to the flight itinerary) The flight from Singapore to
Auckland on Dec 22, 1994 in business class on NZ28, did you and your family take
this flight?
Eusoff I don't remember, but that's what it says here.
Ranjit: You said you met V.K. Lingam accidentally in Singapore. Was he on the
same flight NZ28 as you?
Eusoff Yes.
Ranjit: The next flight, from Auckland to Christchurch on Dec 26, 1994 in
business class on NZ1541, did you take this flight?
Eusoff Yes.
Ranjit: Did you fly together with V.K. Lingam?
Eusoff Yes.
Ranjit: You left Auckland for Christchurch on Dec 26, 1994, so you had three to
four days in Auckland. Did you spend time together with V.K. Lingam?
Eusoff Well, the thing is, he was tagging along. When I said I was going to the
zoo, he said, 'Can I come along?'
Ranjit: Which hotel did you stay in? Was V.K. Lingam at the same hotel?
Eusoff I can't remember.
Ranjit: Did V.K. Lingam tag along the whole time you were in Auckland?
Eusoff (softly) Yes.
Ranjit: This zoo (mentioned in the news clipping), what was its name?
Eusoff I can't remember.
Ranjit: Would that zoo be in Auckland? Or you can't remember?
Eusoff I can't remember.
Ranjit: The flight from Christchurch to Auckland on Dec 30, 1994 in business
class on NZ504, was it with V.K. Lingam?
Eusoff Yes.
Ranjit: Did you follow this itinerary exactly?
Eusoff I can't remember.
Ranjit: Let me assist you on this. Did you take extra trips? Did you at any
time, change your itinerary?
Eusoff I can't remember.
Ranjit: The flight from Auckland to Singapore on Dec 30, 1994 in business class
on NZ73, do you recall taking this flight back?
Eusoff I think so, yes.
Ranjit: Did V.K. Lingam take this flight together with Tun?
Eusoff Maybe, yes.
Ranjit: Perhaps he flew on every flight with Tun?
Eusoff There was an extra flight, but I'm not sure where.
Ranjit: I know where, Tun, I'm coming to that. The last flight, Singapore to KL
on MH616 Dec 30, did you take this flight with your family?
Eusoff Yes.
Ranjit: Do you recall whether V.K. Lingam took the same flight?
Eusoff I can't remember.
Ranjit: The first flight, from KL to Singapore, you flew first class on MH611.
Was it the same flight with V.K. Lingam?
Eusoff No, when we booked, I don't think he took this one.
Ranjit: V.K. Lingam flew on the same day but on a different flight, 15 minutes
apart. Tun's flights appeared to match his and Tun appeared to stay in the same
hotel with him in Auckland.
Eusoff I don't remember.
Ranjit: Tun, are you suggesting that he went to your travel agency and took hold
of your itinerary to follow you?
Eusoff Possible.
Ranjit: Just so that he could be close to you?
Eusoff I can't see what he was thinking. Before flying to New Zealand, (former
Federal Court judge) Datuk Edgar Joseph Jr told me that New Zealand is a nice
place, better go there soon, so I told my secretary to plan for a week or so. I
cannot help it if he wants to tag along and follow me. If people want to follow
me, how am I to control that?
Ranjit: There was also a trip to Queenstown, how did you go there?
Eusoff I can't remember how.
Ranjit: Was it by car or by plane?
Eusoff It's possible we took a van.
Ranjit: Did you go with V.K. Lingam?
Eusoff Yes, he wanted to follow. He offered to pay half of the transport costs.
Ranjit: You bumped into him accidentally in Singapore, he follows you around
everywhere, offers to pay, he's a lawyer in the Malaysian Bar, why should he
follow you?
Eusoff (silent)
Ranjit: There must be a limit, why did you allow V.K. Lingam to follow you?
Judges don't do this, Tun.
Eusoff (silent)
Ranjit: Was there another man called Tan Ching Paw in the van?
Eusoff I can't remember.
Ranjit: How did you travel back to Christchurch from Queenstown?
Eusoff We flew back.
Ranjit: Did you fly together with V.K. Lingam?
Eusoff Yes, he followed.
Ranjit: He followed you again?
Eusoff Yes.
Ranjit: How did V.K. Lingam manage to book internal flights to match yours,
which had been booked earlier?
Eusoff What do you mean?
Ranjit: He followed you, took the same van, stayed in the same hotel in
Auckland, he flew back to Christchurch on the same flight. How did Lingam book
the same flight as yours?
Eusoff He booked at the airport.
Ranjit: Tun, why was there a need for you to go one step further and tell V.K.
Lingam where you were going? Were you leaving it open for him to tag along?
Eusoff He just wanted to follow me. Even if you (Ranjit) wanted to follow me, I
can't do anything.
Ranjit: I would never follow Tun Eusoff Chin, never.
Eusoff You're just out to hammer me.
Ranjit: I'm not hammering you... I apologise for my statement. On the subject of
pictures, Tun, did you take any photos with V.K. Lingam?
Eusoff The photos were taken for their family album. Like I said, everywhere I
go, everyone wants to take a photo, law students, lawyers. If a fellow wants to
put his face in my pictures, I cannot stop it.
Ranjit: How many did you take with V.K. Lingam?
Commissioner Datuk Mahadev Shankar interrupts to ask how the question is
relevant.
Ranjit: Well, if a lawyer wants to take a photo with the chief justice, he would
normally take one or two and the chief justice will be allowed to move on.
(turns to Eusoff) How many photos?
Eusoff Maybe five or 10.
Ranjit (tenders the photograph of Eusoff, Lingam and their wives) Tun, could you
read the words on the building behind you?
Nordin: (interrupts) There should be a limit to these questions. The
investigations on the holiday have already been completed by the Anti–Corruption
Agency. The case is closed.
Mahadev: But this commission is very open. This is very much within the terms of
reference to determine whether there has been any misconduct. Ranjit can
continue.
Ranjit's questioning, however, was cut short when commissioner Tan Sri Steve
Shim said Eusoff should be given an opportunity to seek legal representation.
"He's not legally represented, if he needs to engage a lawyer, we will give him
time," said Shim.
Eusoff then responded: "Initially, I trusted the wisdom of the members of
the commission to look into the procedure and know what is admissible and what
is inadmissible."
"If you need counsel, we can give you time," said chairman Tan Sri Haidar
Mohamed Noor.
Proceedings were adjourned until Monday when Eusoff said he would need time to
engage counsel.
Ex–chief justice: Lingam was just an acquaintance
Datuk V.K. Lingam’s brother, V.K. Thirunama (right) and his lawyer Wee Choo
Keong holding up a copy of the photograph of Tun Eusoff Chin and Lingam with
their wives while on holiday in New Zealand in 1994.
KUALA LUMPUR: "He was just an acquaintance," said former chief justice Tun Eusoff Chin yesterday of his relationship with lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam.
He said although he had known Lingam since 1990, they were
not "extremely close" as Lingam had claimed in the video clip.
Inquiry officer Datuk Nordin Hassan had earlier asked Eusoff to explain how he
knew Lingam.
Nordin: Do you know a lawyer called Datuk V.K. Lingam?
Eusoff Yes, I do.
Nordin: How long have you known him?
Eusoff Since 1990.
Nordin: Could you explain how did you come to know him?
Eusoff When I was a Kuala Lumpur High Court judge, he conducted a case in my
court.
Nordin: Do you have a close relationship with him?
Eusoff He is an acquaintance, we have a normal relationship.
Nordin: How do you know Tan Sri Vincent Tan?
Eusoff I don't. I've only met him at social functions, gatherings and Hari
Raya.
Nordin: Have you ever seen a video clip featuring a lawyer speaking on the
phone, discussing judicial appointments?
Eusoff Yes, I have, the Anti–Corruption Agency showed it to me.
Nordin: There is an Indian man on the clip, do you recognise him?
Eusoff No, the clip wasn't clear, I couldn't recognise him.
Nordin: If we showed you the clip again, can you try to identify him?
Eusoff Yes.
(The clip is shown in court.)
Nordin: Can you recognise the man speaking on the phone now?
Eusoff It's still not clear, I cannot recognise him.
Nordin: What about his style of speaking, does he resemble anyone you know?
Eusoff He's similiar to Datuk V.K. Lingam.
(Nordin then refers to parts in the clip and the transcript where Eusoff is
mentioned.)
Nordin: Did you ever discuss the appointment of five High Court judges with
Vincent Tan?
Eusoff No.
Nordin: Did you ever send a memorandum to the former prime minister on the
appointment of five High Court judges?
Eusoff No.
He also denied he had met or discussed with Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku
Adnan Tengku Mansor (who was then a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's
Department), and businessman Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun on the appointment
of Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim as the president of the Appeals Court and
chief justice
Nordin: The transcript reads : "You know that the same problem Tun Eusoff Chin
had...he tried to do all this and yet he had run out of soldiers". Do you know
what Lingam meant by that?
Eusoff No, I don't understand what he is referring to. "Same problem"? What
problem?
Nordin: "Datuk, I know how you suffered for Tun Eusoff Chin...and Tun said Datuk
Ahmad Fairuz...110 per cent loyalty". Do you know what was meant by that?
Eusoff I don't know what he means by that.
Nordin: Is it true that you are "extremely close" with V.K. Lingam, as the clip
suggests?
Eusoff No, not extremely close.
Nordin: What did Lingam mean when he said "Eusoff Chin in power, I can straight
get, pom pom pom pom"?
Eusoff I don't know.
Lawyer's brother offers to be witness to assist inquiry
KUALA LUMPUR: V.K. Thirunama has offered to be a witness to assist the Royal
Commission of Inquiry looking into the video clip linking his brother, Datuk V.K.
Lingam.
Thirunama's counsel Wee Choo Keong submitted a written
application on the fifth day of the hearing yesterday.
"My client's testimony is relevant to establish the close relationship between
V.K. Lingam and former chief justice Tun Eusoff Chin."
In the application, Wee said events which Thirunama would testify on include:
– In December 1994, Lingam, Eusoff and their families went on holiday together
in New Zealand.
– In 1995, Lingam threw a dinner party in his presence in
Kelana Jaya for Eusoff and his wife and former Court of Appeal president Tan Sri
Lamin Yunus and his wife.
– In May 1996, Eusoff and his wife went to Lingam's house to bid farewell to
Lingam before both of them left for the United States where Lingam's wife was
undergoing medical treatment.
Replying to a question by commission chairman Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor, Wee
said his client's testimony was within the scope of the commission's terms of
reference.
Inquiry officer Datuk Nordin Hassan said Thirunama had told the Anti–Corruption
Agency earlier that he had nothing to do with the video clip when he was
questioned.
"Thirunama will be able to disclose 'the closeness of Lingam and Eusoff' because
he had personally sent his brother to Eusoff's house," Wee said.
"Lingam used to ask my client to deliver bags and handphones at night to
Eusoff's house."
Haidar said the commission would make its decision after Eusoff's testimony.