8.48AM Accused former premier Najib arrives at the court complex in his familiar Proton Perdana bearing the TN50 license plate.
He was not greeted by supporters as he had been on previous days in the trial.
Clad in a dark blue suit, he confers with his defence counsel Harvinderjit.
The fifth day of the criminal trial of former premier Najib Abdul Razak involving RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds is set to start at the Kuala Lumpur High Court at 9am today.
Najib is facing a trial into three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and one count of abuse of his position as then-prime minister in relation to funds amounting to RM42 million linked to SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.
The 65-year-old politician, who was also finance minister and adviser emeritus of SRC International, is also facing three money laundering charges over the funds.
The three CBT charges are laid under Section 409 of the Penal Code, the abuse of position charge is under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009, and the three money laundering counts are per Section 4 (1) (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (Amlatfa) 2001.
If convicted, the Pekan MP can be sentenced up to 20 years in jail, whipping and fine for the CBT charges; a maximum 20 years' in jail and a fine not less than five times the amount of bribe involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher, for the abuse of position charge; and jail time not exceeding 15 years, and a fine up to RM15 million or five times the amount involved, whichever is higher, for the money laundering charges.
His case will be presided over by judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, with the trial to kick-off this morning with the possible testimony of two new witnesses, including Nimma Safira Khalid.
She was a bank officer with Affin Bank Berhad who handed over bank documents, regarding SRC International's subsidiary Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd, to then Bank Negara's Financial Intelligence and Enforcement Department analyst Mohammad Nizam Yahya, during the central bank's raid on the commercial bank at Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, on July 6, 2015.
However, all eyes are on the possibility of a fourth prosecution witness, then Bank Negara's investigation officer with the same department (Financial Intelligence and Enforcement Department) Ahmad Farhan Sharifuddin being called back to the witness stand today.
Yesterday, the court allowed an application by Najib's defence team to compel Farhan to produce evidence of an alleged conversation between fugitive Low Taek Jho and Ambank banker Joanna Yu Ging Ping.
The evidence is in the form of a smartphone, emails, recordings and documents among others that may contain alleged conversation between the wanted businessman, also known as Jho Low, and Yu, in regards to the operation and transactions of Najib's account with Ambank, among others.
In earlier testimony, Farhan said that he seized the items from Yu during a Bank Negara raid on the commercial bank at Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, on July 6, 2015.
Nazlan had allowed Farhan time to gather the seized items within his safekeeping before he brings them to proceedings, so he may only get to be called back to the witness stand once he managed to sort and produce the evidence in court for Najib's defence team to scrutinise if it has bearing on the accused's defence.
The raids on both Ambank and Affin Bank at Jalan Raja Chulan came four days after the international business daily Wall Street Journal reported that investigators believed at least US$700 million had flowed into Najib's bank account.
Attorney-General Tommy Thomas is expected to lead the 13-person prosecution team, comprised of DPPs Sulaiman Abdullah, V Sithambaram, Manoj Kurup, Ishak Mohd Yusoff, Donald Joseph Franklin, Suhaimi Ibrahim, Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi, Sulaiman Kho Kheng Fuei, Budiman Lutfi Mohamed, Mohd Ashraf Adrin Kamaril, Muhammad Izzat Fauzan, and Mohd Ashraf Adrin Kamaril.
Najib will be represented by a 13-person defence team led by veteran criminal lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Other members of the defence team are former solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, Harvinderjit Singh, Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, Chong Loong Men, Devanandan S Subramaniam, Farhan Read, Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed, Rahmat Hazlan, Muhammad Farhan Shafee, Tiara Katrina Fuad, Nur Syahirah Hanapiah, and Zahria Eleena Redza. - Mkini
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