The Court of Appeal will continue hearing Najib Abdul Razak's pre-trial proceedings with regard to the charges involving SRC International on Friday.
This is after the former premier's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah asked to be excused, citing a fractured hand.
“My pet dog jumped on me,” he told the three-member panel comprising Justices Zabariah Mohd Yusof, Lau Bee Lan and Rhodzariah Bujang.
He added that he was in pain and needed urgent medical attention.
The hearing began yesterday and was initially scheduled to conclude today.
While he empathised with Shafee's pain, Attorney General Tommy Thomas, who is acting as the public prosecutor in the case, responded that the prosecution did not favour the case being delayed further.
“The whole country, everybody, wants the trial to start tomorrow if possible. There is enormous pressure on the prosecution team, in fact, there is global pressure on us for trial to start.
“I understand the counsel has a problem, but on the other hand, we are under scrutiny as to why the trial is not starting,” he added.
Thomas hoped that the appeals could be heard as soon as possible.
The panel later allowed Shafee to be excused and set 8.30am on Friday for the fourth and final appeal hearing.
Najib has filed four interlocutory appeals namely relating to a gag order to prohibit the media from discussing the merits of his case; the removal of Sulaiman Abdullah as lead prosecutor; an application for wider access to the prosecution’s documents and statement; and the manner in which his case was transferred from the Sessions Court to the High Court.
Najib was previously slapped with seven charges for criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering involving RM42 million from SRC, a government-owned firm linked to 1MDB.
He was present in court this morning with his son Norashman Najib. - Mkini
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