Najib misled by wording of 7 SRC charges, says defence

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak sought today to strike out the seven charges against him related to SRC International, claiming that a miscarriage of justice had occurred as he was misled by the wording of the charges.

The accused’s counsel Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin argued in court that the details of the relevant offences were insufficiently worded, and had not enabled Najib to prepare his defence adequately.

“Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code states that the charge shall contain particulars of the manner in which the alleged offence is committed as will be sufficient.

“Here, the accused (Najib) does not have sufficient notice of what he is charged with as (then) prime minister,” Kamarul told judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The lawyer said that it was important to ensure the particulars of the alleged offences were sufficient.

This would help make sure that the accused receives a fair trial in line with Article 5 (1) of the Federal Constitution, he added.

“The prosecution must particularise (the details of Najib’s alleged offences) so that the defence can prepare a fair trial,” Kamarul said.

Najib is facing seven charges in relation to the alleged misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary. 

These comprise three criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges under the Penal Code; three money laundering charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amlatfa); and one abuse of power charge under the MACC Act 2009.

The former premier’s ongoing trial in relation to the charges is also being heard before Mohd Nazlan. It is set to resume on Monday next week.

'Double jeopardy'

Kamarul also submitted that Najib’s current charges expose him to double jeopardy, or receiving more than one charge for the same offence.

The lawyer argued that the risk of double jeopardy applied to the charge against Najib for abuse of power under the MACC Act 2009.

It also allegedly applied to the former premier’s three charges of money laundering under Amlatfa.

DPP V Sithambaram countered that Najib’s defence team had agreed to a joint trial for the accused’s seven charges from the very beginning.

He said that, through a letter, the defence team had assented to the seven charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of position, and money laundering being heard together.

“For my learned friend (defence team) today to complain about misjoinder of charges is an afterthought,” Sithambaram said.

Sithambaram told the court that Najib had never been misled or prejudiced by the charges.

He said this was demonstrated by the defence team being able to obtain documents related to the case, and the manner in which the defence had conducted cross-examinations over the course of the trial so far.

The lawyer pointed out that the prosecution had even furnished the defence with 35 volumes of court documents related to the case.

“At the end of the trial (can one determine) whether there had been prejudice. Without hearing the evidence (presented by every prosecution witness), this motion is premature,” he said.

As such, Sithambaram stated that unless the case “clearly crosses the line”, the trial should proceed at this stage.

Previously, Najib’s defence team was allowed by the court to compel a few prosecution witnesses to produce evidence related to Bank Negara’s 2015 raid on Ambank’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Kuala Lumpur.

As of the ninth day of the trial yesterday, Ambank’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch manager R Uma Devi was in the midst of being cross-examined by Najib’s defence team.

In countering the defence’s submission over double jeopardy, Sithambaram said that Parliament had enacted laws that showed the seven charges were distinct from each other based on the relevant acts.

“(Offences of) CBT, MACC and Amlatfa are distinct offences. They have different ingredients to be proven (in court),” he argued.

After both parties’ submissions today, Nazlan scheduled the decision on Najib’s application to be delivered at 9am on Monday next week. - Mkini