TAWAU: The High Court on Thursday closely examined the factual foundation behind allegations of “41 missing gold doré bars” linked to the previous management of Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd (WRSB), as cross-examination of Plaintiff Witness 1, Chong Tzu Khen continued before Judicial Commissioner Steve Ritikos.

During questioning by defence counsel Andy Tay, the court heard that Chong lodged two police reports on 26 June 2023 within less than an hour.

In the second report, made at 3.34pm, Chong stated that it was “for the information and attention of the Court only and not for further police investigation,” which he confirmed during cross-examination.

Counsel then referred to an earlier report lodged at 2.55pm the same day alleging that Datuk Lo Fui Ming and Lo Teck Yong had removed 41 gold doré bars belonging to WRSB.

chong  agreed that only the first report was exhibited in support of an ex-parte injunction application.

The defence suggested that the reports were prepared primarily for court proceedings and that a police report constitutes a complaint rather than proof of wrongdoing and Chong disagreed with those propositions.

Andy further put to Chong that the allegation of missing doré bars was based on a comparison between production serial numbers and sales invoices.

While Chong disagreed with aspects of that characterisation, he acknowledged that gold production does not necessarily result in immediate sale and that bars may be accumulated, re-batched, re-smelted or sold later depending on logistics and pricing considerations.

He accepted that no specific standard operating procedure (SOP), contract or mining regulation was produced in the Common Bundle of Documents (CBOD) requiring every produced bar to appear in a corresponding sales invoice within the same accounting sequence.

The court also heard that Chong did not produce SOPs, access logs, biometric records, CCTV footage or audit trails demonstrating exclusive control of the gold room or production records by the named former management.

Although he disputed suggestions that others could have accessed the facilities, he agreed that no documentary proof excluding such access was exhibited in the CBOD.

Chong further acknowledged that he could not identify the last person who edited certain computer files relied upon in his analysis, nor confirm whether sales invoice files were complete, altered or deleted prior to his tenure.

He was also unable to provide the serial numbers of the alleged 41 bars, stating that another witness would address that issue.

On tax matters, chong  referred to an Inland Revenue Board (IRB) document but accepted under questioning that it did not state that 41 gold bars were missing, instead referring to undeclared income. He agreed that tax reconciliation or undeclared income does not in itself prove theft.

Chong  also confirmed that the royalty recording system of Jabatan Mineral dan Geosains Malaysia (JMG) is based on production declarations rather than a physical count of gold bars.

The defence further established that the alleged tax liability was voluntarily settled by Bahvest Resources Berhad/WRSB after the change in management.

Chong agreed he had served as Finance Manager of Bahvest and director of WRSB during the relevant period but rejected suggestions that he bore responsibility for any discrepancy.

Throughout the exchange, counsel suggested that the allegation of missing gold bars rested largely on accounting interpretation and inference rather than direct evidence or exclusive control records.

Proceedings were adjourned and will resume at 8.30am tomorrow.