ONE FOOT AS GOOD AS IN JAIL, YET NAJIB CHOOSES TO CRACK JOKES IN COURT – CORRECTS INTERPRETER TWICE

KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Najib Razak injected some humour into normally sombre court proceedings today when he kept correcting an interpreter on the amount of monies that he had allegedly received, purportedly proceeds of illegal activities.

As the female court interpreter read out the first charge, in which Najib was alleged to have received RM27 million, she said “RM27 thousand million” during the Sessions Court proceedings, to which the former prime minister corrected her and told her, “million”.

Looking startled and with a small smile, she corrected herself and stated that the amount was RM27 million.

Chuckles could be heard from the public gallery.

When she read the amount in the second charge as “RM5 thousand million”, Najib again said “million”, attracting amused murmur yet again from the public gallery.

However, when it came to the third charge, she correctly read out the amount as “RM10 million”.

Today, Najib found himself in the dock again, this time to face three charges of receiving a total RM42 million in illegal proceeds linked to SRC International (SRC).

He was alleged to have received the monies, which were purportedly proceeds of illegal activities, at an AmIslamic Bank branch at Jalan Raja Chulan here between Dec 26, 2014, and Feb 10, 2015.

He allegedly received the proceeds via electronic transfer.

He was charged under Section 4 (1) (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act.

Najib faces a maximum 15 years’ jail and no less than five times the amount of proceeds involved, or a RM5 million fine, whichever is higher, if convicted.

Najib was represented by a legal team led by veteran lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

– NST