KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- Lawyer Datuk V. K. Lingam was not drunk or
intoxicated when he spoke on the telephone allegedly brokering the appointment
of judges, the Royal Commission of Inquiry heard Monday.
Loh Gwo Burne, a 34-year-old consultant, said there were "drinks" taken but he
was of the opinion that not much drinks were consumed on that evening in late
December 2001 in Lingam's house in Kelana Jaya.
"I don't think that even by the end of the night, Lingam was drunk," the 12th
witness said in the inquiry which entered its 6th day today.
To a question by his counsel, Alex De Silva, on whether Lingam was "staging" it,
Gwo Burne said: "No, sometimes I could hear a male voice on the other side (of
the telephone)" but he could not hear what the person on the other end was
saying.
The video clip was played once again in the proceedings. After watching the
video clip, conducting officer Datuk Nordin Hassan asked Gwo Burne whether the
contents of the clip were the same as the one he had recorded, to which he said:
"Yes I believe so".
To a question by De Silva, Gwo Burne said he did not interfere with, edit or
doctor the contents of the 14-minute video recording when transferring the data
from the memory card to the computer and from the computer to his laptop.
"In my memory, the video clip is the recording that I took in 2001," he said.
Gwo Burne earlier told the inquiry that he and his father, Loh Mui Fah went to
Lingam's house that night as they were invited for dinner and also to discuss
some of their legal matters with Lingam, who was their counsel.
He said he took his Sony 707 camera along because he wanted to try it out as it
was a new camera with a recording function.
Gwo Burne admitted that the recording of Lingam's conversation as well as the
conversation between his (gwo Burne's) father and Lingam after Lingam finished
speaking on the telephone was made by him at Lingam's house without his father's
knowledge.
He said that initally he was taking photographs of a vase but half-way through,
it was switched to the video recording mode. He then decided to continue
recording because he was bored and fed up with Lingam because Lingam was always
talking on the phone.
Gwo Burne said Lingam was constantly attending to other matters and talking on
the telephone.
Lingam went out to buy wine, talked to his (Lingam's ) sister who was also
present during the dinner and when Lingam finally had the time to sit down to
discuss their legal matters with them, he was on the telephone again, he said.
To a question by Nordin on whether Lingam was aware that he was recording the
telephone conversation, he said: "I do not believe so".
Lingam made a brief appearance at the hearing today when he was called for
identification by the witness.
Gwo Burne identified him as the man who was speaking on the telephone in 2001.
2012 Bar Council Subscription Click the link above to download Circular 072/2012 pertaining to the 2012 Bar Council subscription, including the payment guide and a set of Frequently-Asked-Questions.
2012 Hotel Corporate Rates Attending seminars? Going for a holiday? Click on the link above to check out the list of hotel corporate rates for Members of the Bar, which is updated regularly.
Bar Council Bookshop Read MORE … but pay LE$$! Members enjoy a 20% discount on LexisNexis publications at the Bar Council Bookshop. Click on the link above for the list of available titles.
International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
Seminar on an Introduction to the Industrial Relations Act (23 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 23 May 2012 (Wednesday). The seminar will be conducted by Wong Keat Ching. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
News 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Circular No 106/2012: Accountant’s Report 2011
