Najib Abdul Razak has failed in his bid to postpone the apex court hearing of his SRC appeal for three or four months, however, the five-person bench allowed for the hearing to begin on Thursday.
The bench chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed the postponement application raised by defence counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik.
Earlier, the bench had unanimously dismissed the former prime minister’s bid to adduce fresh evidence in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case.
The Federal Court had then directed for the former finance minister’s main SRC appeal to be heard.
However, Hisyam - who last month took over from Najib’s previous team of lawyers headed by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah - had sought for adjournment of today’s hearing, due to the need for more time to prepare for the brief.
The apex court allowed adjournment of the hearing for this afternoon and tomorrow.
While reading out the apex court judgment this afternoon, Tengku Maimun noted that Najib’s new batch of lawyers sought the postponement as “they are not prepared”.
She pointed out that prior to agreeing to act for Najib, the new legal team should have been aware of the SRC appeal hearing dates as that had been set four months back on April 8.
Tengku Maimun said it is beyond settled that though the courts have absolute discretion to grant or refuse adjournments and such discretion must be exercised judiciously, because what is judicious hinges on a proper and wholesome consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case.
She observed that where a lawyer has accepted a case, he or she should be deemed as “reasonably certain of being able to appear and represent the client on the required day” per Rule 24(a) and (b) of the Legal Profession (Practice and Etiquette) Rules 1978.
“In fact, the appellant, having been well aware of the dates fixed for hearing, elected to discharge his former solicitors and appoint Messrs Zaid Ibrahim and Tuan Haji Hisyam Teh as his solicitors and counsel respectively.
“This is his right to do so but he cannot, after having made that decision, turn around and say that his new lawyers are not ready to proceed with the hearing of the appeals.
“The new lawyers too, having accepted the brief, are not entitled to say they need more time to prepare, knowing full well that the dates had been fixed well in advance,” the chief justice said.
“Given the circumstances we have outlined, the request for the adjournment and the grounds in support thereof is neither cogent nor reasonable,” Tengku Maimun added.
Time and money
She noted that the stark reality is that considerable public funds would be wasted if granting an adjournment in a case of this kind was an easier option, and that another very significant component of the right to a fair trial is that justice cannot be unduly delayed.
Tengku Maimun said that the time taken on this case, especially the number of days fixed for hearing means many other criminal cases and accused persons have had to wait their turn for their appeals to be heard.
On July 28, 2020, the Kuala Lumpur High Court found Najib guilty of seven criminal charges - one count of abuse of power, three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT), and three money laundering charges - involving RM42 million of funds from SRC.
Then trial judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali meted out a sentence of 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine.
However, Nazlan allowed the defence’s bid to stay the execution of the sentence pending disposal of the appeal. Nazlan has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal.
On Dec 8 last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s ruling and dismissed Najib’s appeal.
Initially a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, SRC was later fully acquired by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc). 1MDB is also fully owned by MOF Inc.
Najib used to be SRC’s adviser emeritus and chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.