The Melalap assemblyman today failed in his final appeal to set aside his conviction over forging a letter from the office of the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) vice-chancellor for fraudulent purposes 11 years ago.
In a statement, KDM deputy president Wetrom Bahanda said despite the party being disappointed with the Court of Appeal’s verdict, it was still keen on contesting the upcoming Sabah state election – which must be held before the end of the year.
“We will never retreat even an inch; we will continue this struggle. All the plans made by the president and the party’s top leaders will continue, including our efforts in the upcoming state polls,” he said.
“We have faced many obstacles, including (what has happened) today. We will continue to face all the obstacles and challenges ahead for the sake of the state we love.”
Peter had been on RM80,000 bail pending his appeal.
He will lose his Sabah state assembly seat unless he obtains a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the offence was committed in Putrajaya.
Article 17(1) of the Sabah constitution states that an elected or nominated assemblyman will be disqualified if he or she has been convicted of an offence by a court of law in any part of the federation.
The provision also states that the disqualification will come into effect if a jail term of a year or more, or a fine of RM2,000 or higher, is imposed.
Peter was sentenced to three years’ jail and fined RM50,000.
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur said in 2023 that the sessions court had not committed any error either in law or in fact when finding Peter guilty of the charge in May 2022.
Justice Ahmad Bache, who has since retired, also maintained the sentence imposed by trial judge Azura Alwi.
Peter, 53, was Sabah infrastructure development minister when Warisan was in power between 2018 and 2020.
Peter, then the managing director of Syarikat Asli Jati, was convicted of forging a letter dated June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement with the intention of using it for fraudulent purposes.
He committed the offence at the office of the principal private secretary to then prime minister Najib Razak at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and Aug 21, 2014.