Malaysian admits receiving gold coin

Malaysian admits receiving gold coin

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A Malaysian businessman has admitted that he received but later misplaced a Standard Chartered Plc gold coin worth US$10,000, reported by the British media to have gone missing after being lent as a sample to a minister.

Steven Goh, who three years ago was in the delegation sent by Standard Chartered's Hong Kong-based Mocatta division to meet the minister, Ghani Othman, confirmed taking back the coin from Ghani soon after their meeting at the end of 1991.

Goh, in a new twist to the saga, admitted in a statement to Bernama news agency late Wednesday that he misplaced the coin two years ago and would compensate the bank for the loss.

Goh's explanation might have cleared Ghani but appeared to contradict remarks by Standard Chartered officials that the coin was returned sometime in late 1991 and was "never missing."

But a spokeswoman for the bank yesterday insisted that "everything is in order. What we are saying is to confirm Ghani returned the coin and we will now deal with Goh as it is now an internal matter."