The Kuala Lumpur High Court today temporarily allowed Rosmah Mansor access to her passport so she could be in Singapore for a month to attend to her daughter, who is expected to give birth there.
Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan allowed the application by the accused’s defence counsel Jagjit Singh.
“The applicant’s passport is returned to her on Oct 15 (today), and must be returned (to the court) by or before Dec 6.
“This is on the condition that the applicant is only allowed to travel overseas to Singapore, from Oct 21 and must return to Malaysia at or before Nov 21,” the judge ruled.
Zaini noted that today’s ruling takes into account the 14-day quarantine period when Rosmah comes back to Malaysia from Singapore.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam prosecuted.
Earlier during today’s proceedings, the DPP told the court that the prosecution has no objection to the application by the accused’s defence team, provided that it does not impinge on any existing trial dates of her solar corruption case.
“The prosecution has no objection, we leave it to your lordship to determine the application by my learned friend (Jagjit), subject to it does not touch on any trial dates, and that they must adhere to the timeline (of her temporary stay in Singapore), so that there is no further delay,” Mustafa emphasised.
Temporary release
Two days ago, Free Malaysia Today reported that Rosmah, who is the wife of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, filed an application for the temporary release of her passport so she could be in Singapore.
The online news portal cited court documents claiming that Rosmah needed to be in Singapore to provide mental and emotional support to her daughter Nooryana Najwa, who is expected to give birth to her second child at a private hospital in the island republic.
It also cited a copy of the application claiming that Rosmah needed to do so as Nooryana had a previous complication with birth.
Rosmah, 70, is facing three charges under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009.
In the first charge, she is accused of soliciting RM187.5 million in bribes from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd to help secure an Education Ministry project.
Prima facie case
The RM1.25 billion project was intended to supply power to 369 rural schools in Sarawak using a combination of solar and diesel energy.
In the second and third charges, she is accused of receiving RM1.5 million and RM5 million in bribes respectively as a reward for securing the project.
On Feb 18 this year, the High Court ordered Rosmah to enter her defence, following its finding that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against her.
Trial before Zaini will resume on Oct 21. She is expected to fly to Singapore the next day (Oct 22).
After Oct 21, the next trial date is on Dec 8. - Mkini
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