Malaysian politician tried for smuggling

Malaysian politician tried for smuggling

BRISBANE, Australia (AP): A former Malaysian politician was
carrying so much cash when he boarded a plane in Australia in
1996 that his bag weighed almost four times the limit for carry-
on luggage, a court heard yesterday.

Muhammad Muhammad Taib, 51, a former chief minister of
Selangor state, pleaded not guilty in the District Court to two
cash-smuggling charges relating to a total of more than
US$740,000 in foreign currency found in his luggage.

He is charged with falsely stating the amount of cash he
brought into Australia on Dec. 16, 1996, and with failing to
declare currency exceeding the legal limit of A$5,000 when he
tried to leave Australia on Dec. 22.

On the first day of his criminal trial, prosecutor Cate Holmes
told a jury that when Taib entered Australia, he filled in
documentation attesting he was carrying only 20,000 Malaysian
ringgit (A$5,000).