THE case against the late tycoon Tan Sri Eric Chia Eng Hock for alleged misappropriation of funds and breach of trust involving RM74.6mil and implicating Perwaja Steel in 1994 incurred the highest cost of investigation for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Kosmo! reported.
MACC deputy head Datuk Sutinah Sutan said their investigators had to travel to as far as Hong Kong and Switzerland and, as a result, had to postpone the case several times.
She, however, did not reveal the actual cost involved over the Perwaja case.
But she disclosed the least expensive case handled by the commission – RM5,000.
Chia died in a hospital in Sungai Petani after developing breathing difficulties in June 2008. He was 74.
A year earlier, 13 years after the investigations began, he was acquitted of the offences.
Sutinah said due to the costly investigation process, it was now better to focus on enforcement and prevention.
“It also jeopardises the company’s image,” she said during a Corporate Integrity Pledge ceremony between the MACC and Felcra Bhd in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
