PROSECUTORS have filed an appeal against the sentence and elements of the verdict in the long-running Sabah Water Department corruption and money laundering case, seeking a review of the punishment imposed on former department director Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib and challenging the acquittals of two other accused persons.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said its prosecution team lodged the appeal on 25 May following the decision delivered by the Special Corruption Sessions Court in Kota Kinabalu earlier this month.
The appeal involves Ag Mohd Tahir, his wife Fauziah Piut, and former Sabah Water Department deputy director Lim Lam Beng.
In a statement issued by MACC’s Strategic Communications Division, the commission said: “The prosecution team filed an appeal against the lenient sentence imposed on Ag Mohd Tahir, as well as the order acquitting and discharging Fauziah and Lam Beng.”
The latest development prolongs legal proceedings in a case that has become synonymous with one of Malaysia’s most high-profile anti-corruption investigations.
On 19 May, the Special Corruption Sessions Court convicted Ag Mohd Tahir on 12 money laundering charges involving approximately RM49.7 million.
The court sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment and imposed cumulative fines amounting to RM284.3 million. He also faces an additional 78 months’ imprisonment should he fail to pay the fines.
The offences were prosecuted under Sections 4(1)(a) and 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
However, the court granted a stay of execution on both the prison sentence and financial penalties pending the outcome of appeals before the High Court, subject to existing bail conditions remaining in force.
The court also ordered that forfeiture proceedings involving assets linked to all accused persons under Section 55 of the same legislation be suspended until the appellate process is fully concluded.
In addition, the status quo over all seized exhibits and assets was maintained, with no property to be returned until all appeals before higher courts have been finally determined.
In the same proceedings, Fauziah was acquitted and discharged on 19 money laundering charges involving approximately RM2.2 million, while Lim Lam Beng was similarly acquitted and discharged on four charges involving around RM2.3 million.
The court also found Ag Mohd Tahir and Fauziah not guilty on two joint charges relating to assets worth approximately RM6.5 million.
The case stems from the landmark “Ops Water” investigation launched in October 2016, which targeted alleged money laundering activities and the ownership of assets suspected to have been acquired through unlawful means by senior Sabah Water Department officials.
The investigation attracted nationwide attention after MACC officers carried out one of the largest seizures ever recorded in Sabah, recovering tens of millions of ringgit in cash and valuables.
Images of rooms stacked with cash and banknotes strewn across floors circulated widely in local media at the time, transforming the probe into one of Malaysia’s most closely watched corruption scandals.
After multiple delays, the trial formally commenced on 7 May 2018 before Sessions Court Judge Abu Bakar Manat.
The prosecution called 46 witnesses throughout the proceedings, while the defence later presented 15 witnesses, including several prominent figures initially listed by prosecutors, among them former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan and former minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah.
With prosecutors now contesting both the sentence and acquittals, the case is set to enter another chapter in the courts, extending a legal battle that has already spanned nearly a decade and remains one of Malaysia’s most significant anti-corruption prosecutions. – June 1, 2026
