The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd enters its 57th day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Proceedings to resume on Tuesday
- Signatures on banking documents not sent for analysis - witness
- MACC didn’t investigate Najib's donation claims, admits investigator
- MACC IO disagrees that Nik Faisal never implicated Najib
- MACC is independent, says officer
- Witness: Najib claimed he spent RM3.2m for gift to ex-Qatar PM
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6.10pm - Thank you for following our live report today.
Proceedings to resume on Tuesday
4.58pm - Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali set proceedings to resume on Tuesday at 9am.
The judge set the date after DPP V Sithambaram informs the court that Najib Abdul Razak's RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial will start on Wednesday.
Earlier during brief adjournment of the SRC trial, the former prime minister's defence team and prosecution had attended the case management of the 1MDB case before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Sequerah had agreed to postpone the 1MDB trial that was scheduled on Monday, to Wednesday instead, in order to allow the SRC trial before Nazlan to be completed.
After the brief mention, Najib's defence team and prosecution had then gone back to Nazlan's court to inform him on Sequerah’s decision.
4.25pm - Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali allows a short adjournment of the proceedings to allow Najib 's defence team to attend the mention of Najib's RM2.28 billion 1MDB case by High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
The mention is to update Sequerah on the progress of the SRC trial, and to help him decide whether to maintain the present 1MDB trial date next Monday or to postpone it.
Signatures on banking documents not sent for analysis - witness
3.45pm - MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain tells the court that he did not send any banking documents acquired in his probe into SRC International for signature analysis at the Chemistry Department.
According to his testimony, the officer says that he did not see the need to do so as there was no report lodged or any allegation made on possible forgery of signatures in the case.
He also agrees that samples of signatures had also been taken from former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and former SRC International director Suboh Md Yassin.
However, Rosli says, these samples were also not sent for analysis and were taken only for preparation if the need arises.
The officer also testifies that no sample of signature was taken from Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil (above) as there was no allegation of signature forgery that warranted for his signature samples be taken.
MACC didn’t investigate Najib's donation claims, admits investigator
3.30pm - MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain testifies in the court that he had never investigated if it was true that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had received donations from Saudi Arabian royalties.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the officer tells the court that Najib did tell investigators about having received donations in his accounts, but did not investigate the claim as he felt it was not relevant to the case.
Shafee: As I mentioned earlier, about his meeting with the King of Saudi Arabia, you know that he had mentioned this (when giving his statement to MACC)?
Rosli: Yes.
Shafee: Did you make any further investigation into this claim?
Rosli: Yang Arif, I did not make any further investigation into this matter as it has nothing to do with my case.
Shafee: So that is your answer. That this donation, including from Saudi Arabia, is something that is not relevant in this case?
Rosli: Yes.
The lawyer then continues by grilling the investigating officer whether he knew that one of Najib's defence in the trial was that he did not have knowledge that the money inside his accounts originated from illegal sources as Najib believed he was spending funds received from donations.
MACC IO disagrees that Nik Faisal never implicated Najib
3.15pm - MACC investigation officer Rosli Hussain disagrees with lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah's question that SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil never implicated Najib Abdul Razak.
The 57th witness is referring to the two times that the MACC recorded the statement of the now missing Nik Faisal in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct 17 and another day later that month, in 2015.
Shafee: If I say that Nik Faisal did not implicate Najib at all?
Rosli: I disagree.
DPP Sithambaram then stands up and objects to Shafee's line of questioning as it is speculative and would just elicit speculative answers.
Sithambaram also says that the objection is because the questioning goes into the statement recorded from Nik Faisal, who is currently missing.
Kuala Lumpur High Court judge agrees and tells Shafee to reword the question.
3.10pm - Proceedings resume.
MACC is independent, says officer
12.25pm - “The MACC is independent.”
This is what MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain makes says when he got into a heated exchange with lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah during cross-examination.
Shafee's (above) line of questioning is on MACC's degree of independence in relation to the anti-graft body's taking statements from former SRC International director Suboh Md Yassin.
Shafee: I am not making judgment, in MACC, wallahuallam (Allah knows).
Rosli: The MACC is independent.
The 57th witness asserts that the recording of statements from Suboh, who had returned from Indonesia when the statements were taken last year, was so independent that the MACC investigation officer himself was not present during the recording of the statements at Pullman Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
"I do not disturb, manage and talk to (Suboh) during the recording of the statement," Rosli maintains.
Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali allowed the proceedings to adjourn for lunch and Friday prayer.
The trial will resume at 2.45pm.
Witness: Najib claimed he spent RM3.2m for gift to ex-Qatar PM
11.40am - Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had spent a total of RM3.2 million in August 2014 in Italy to buy gifts for the former prime minister of Qatar, the court hears this morning.
The matter comes about in the court during cross-examination on MACC investigation officer Rosli Hussain, when defence lawyer Farhan Read questions the witness over credit card transactions by Najib at Swiss jeweller De Grisogono's outlet in Italy.
According to Rosli, the politician in his statement to MACC investigators claimed that he performed the RM3.2 million transaction on Aug 8, 2014 to buy gifts for a foreign leader.
"That was what he claimed," says Rosli.
Farhan then produces a new document in the court, which is a copy of an appreciation letter purportedly from the wife of a former Qatar prime minister address to Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor (above).
However, Rosli says that he had never seen the letter before, nor that Rosmah had mentioned about it when they took her statement during the investigation stage.
Proceedings begin
10.43am - Proceedings begin, with Najib Abdul Razak entering the dock.
The former prime minister's defence lawyer Farhan Read will cross-examine MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain.
Farhan informs Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali that he is conducting the cross-examination because his fellow counsel, Harvinderjit Singh, is unable to come to court today.
10.34am - Najib Abdul Razak enters court and takes a seat in the front row of the public gallery.
Also seen in court awaiting the start of proceedings is the former prime minister's lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and other defence lawyers, as well as Attorney-General Tommy Thomas and deputy public prosecutors who form the prosecution team.
9.55am - Proceedings will begin later than scheduled as Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali is presiding over several other court cases this morning.
The cross-examination of MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain, the 57th witness, maybe wrapped up on the 57th day of Najib Abdul Razak's RM42 million SRC International trial.
Defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh said as much yesterday before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
If Harvinderjit and lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah manage to complete the cross-examination today, it will allow prosecutors to begin their re-examination of Rosli in the afternoon session.
A speedy close to the SRC International trial would also allow the accused adequate time to prepare for the larger RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial, which – for the time being – is scheduled to start next Monday.
At 4.30pm today, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah will decide if the 1MDB trial will proceed as planned or be again postponed to a later date.
- Mkini
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