AFP - Wednesday,
April 28
KUALA LUMPUR, April 28, 2010 (AFP) – A former Malaysian general and
four other senior officers have sued the armed forces for wrongful
dismissal over the theft of two missing fighter jet engines, their
lawyer said Wednesday.
In January, a Malaysian air force sergeant and a businessman were charged over the theft of the engines worth 29 million dollars, but the attorney-general said no senior military officers were involved.
However, Brigadier General Abdul Hadi Abdul Khatab and four other senior officers have complained they were forced to retire over the issue, lawyer Zalil Mohammad Mess told AFP.
"The council had asked them to explain allegations of misconduct and negligence over the theft in 2007, which they did and they denied the allegations but were later forced to retire," Zalil said.
He said the five were seeking up to 5.0 million ringgit (1.6 million dollars) in damages as they felt the affair implied that they had cheated the government and caused it to suffer losses due to negligence.
Government lawyers have applied to quash the suit which will be heard on May 21, he said.
The Malaysian government faced a storm of criticism and allegations of official corruption after two Northrop F-5E jet engines were reportedly taken from a military air base in 2007 and sold on the black market to a South American company.
The two engines were traced to Uruguay in February and authorities say they are in the midst of securing their return.
A number of countries subject to US arms embargoes, including Iran, Sudan and Venezuela, have F-5 fighters that use the antiquated engines. The jet first flew in 1963 and Northrop ended production in 1989.
In January, a Malaysian air force sergeant and a businessman were charged over the theft of the engines worth 29 million dollars, but the attorney-general said no senior military officers were involved.
However, Brigadier General Abdul Hadi Abdul Khatab and four other senior officers have complained they were forced to retire over the issue, lawyer Zalil Mohammad Mess told AFP.
"The council had asked them to explain allegations of misconduct and negligence over the theft in 2007, which they did and they denied the allegations but were later forced to retire," Zalil said.
He said the five were seeking up to 5.0 million ringgit (1.6 million dollars) in damages as they felt the affair implied that they had cheated the government and caused it to suffer losses due to negligence.
Government lawyers have applied to quash the suit which will be heard on May 21, he said.
The Malaysian government faced a storm of criticism and allegations of official corruption after two Northrop F-5E jet engines were reportedly taken from a military air base in 2007 and sold on the black market to a South American company.
The two engines were traced to Uruguay in February and authorities say they are in the midst of securing their return.
A number of countries subject to US arms embargoes, including Iran, Sudan and Venezuela, have F-5 fighters that use the antiquated engines. The jet first flew in 1963 and Northrop ended production in 1989.
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