The confirmation came from deputy solicitor-general III Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah ( left ) in a text message SMS to Malaysiakini .
Earlier, sources have informed Malaysiakini that as off late this afternoon, there has not been any instructions from the AGC to appeal the decision, despite it being the last day in the 14-day stipulated period.
With the decision not to appeal, the prosecution is left with Ling's successor as transport minister and former MCA deputy president, Chan Kong Choy, to face trial over the charge of cheating the government over the PKFZ project.
Immediately following Ling's acquittal, DPP Manoj Kurup, who led the prosecution team, had said they will study the judgment and will decide on whether or not to file an appeal.
Previously, the prosecution had also decided not the appeal the acquittal of Abdul Razak Baginda, political analyst and a close confidante of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, in the high-profile case of murdered Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Coincidentally, in both Ling and Altantuya's case, both defence and prosecutors are the same, with Tun Majid leading the chambers while Wong Kian Kheong representing both Ling and Abdul Razak.
In the past, other former VIP's who were charged but were later acquitted following a trial included the late former Perwaja Bhd chairperson Eric Chia and also former Land and Co-operative Development minister Kasitah Gaddam.
The AGC also did not appeal Kasitah Gaddam's acquittal.
Ling was acquitted on Oct 25 of cheating the government in the multi-billion PKFZ project after the Kuala Lumpur High Court found that the defence had successfully created doubt as to the prosecution's case.
Justice Ahmadi Asnawi said Ling cannot be held accountable for any mistakes, misleading information or inaccuracies in the preparation of the ministry's documents which was tabled to the cabinet headed by then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Charged with cheating
The 70-year-old former MCA president had been charge with cheating the government by not disclosing to the cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5 percent per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, knowing that it had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) based on RM25 per square foot, inclusive of the coupon/interest rates.
He also faced two alternative (amended) charges of cheating and intentionally not disclosing to the cabinet that the 7.5 percent per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price.
This had resulted in the government having to pay an alleged extra RM720 million for the land purchase.
Ling, who had served as transport minister over 17 years from 1986 to 2003, was alleged to have committed the offences at the fourth floor of the Prime Minister's Office, Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya, between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.
Ling was ordered by the court to enter his defence last year after Justice Ahmadi found the prosecution had successfully proven a prima facie case against the former transport minister.
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