Former Sabah minister released on parole after three-year sentence

KOTA KINABALU (March 25): Former Sabah minister Datuk Peter Anthony was reportedly released from Kajang Prison two weeks ago.

The Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) president, who served a three-year sentence for a cheating case, returned to the state on March 13 under parole conditions following his release.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun said authorities have not received any official information on the matter.

“We have not received any official information from any parties and we are waiting for information from the Prison Department.

“Parole is under the prison department so we have to wait for reports from the prison director,” he said when contacted.

It was learned that Peter became eligible to apply for parole after serving his three-year sentence.

Under the parole system, a prisoner may serve the remainder of their sentence outside prison under specific conditions set out in the Prisons (Amendment) Act 2008.

Peter was ordered to serve his sentence on March 4 last year after being found guilty of falsifying documents related to a contract with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), following the dismissal of his final appeal to the Court of Appeal.

On May 26, 2022, Peter, then managing director of Syarikat Asli Jati Sdn Bhd, was sentenced to three years’ jail and fined RM50,000 for forging a letter for a mechanical and electrical (M&E) maintenance project at UMS. He paid the fine.

He was charged with forging a letter from the office of the UMS deputy vice-chancellor, dated June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement for fraudulent purposes.

Peter entered politics as a state minister after Parti Warisan won the Sabah government in 2018, but left the party in 2022 to form Parti KDM.