Wildlife crimes and money-laundering convict Lin Yunhua has pleaded not guilty to seven corruption charges.
Lin, currently serving a 14-year jail-term at Maula Prison in Lilongwe over wildlife crimes and money-laundering, is facing two counts of corrupt practices with public officers and five counts of abuse of public office.
While on remand in 2019, Lin allegedly offered K30 million and to complete construction of an officer-in-charge house at Maula Prison as an inducement for Aaron Ganyavu Kaunda to engage the magistrate presiding over the wildlife crimes and money-laundering case.
In 2022 and 2023, while in jail, the convict allegedly persuaded prison officials to go out to buy farm inputs and other items as well as go to his house at Area 9 in Lilongwe.
When he appeared before Principal Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday to take plea, Lin pleaded not guilty to all seven counts.
In course of taking plea, Lin, through an interpreter, alleged that the prison officers whom he is accused of persuading to allow him to be moving out of prison, were the ones enticing him.
“They were the ones asking me to go out to get things, and not me approaching them. Why am I being accused of abuse of office?” he asked.
But principal resident magistrate Roderick Michongwe said Lin was only taking plea on the charges, and it was up to him to decide what plea the court should record.
“If he is denying the charges, he is to plead not guilty so that the State should prove,” said Michongwe.
Following a plea of not guilty, Anti-Corruption Bureau principal legal and prosecutions officer Peter Sambani told the court that the State will parade 10 witnesses.
Michongwe adjourned the matter to April 8 2025 for the State to start parading its witnesses.
