The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd, enters its seventh day at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Najib is being tried on three counts of criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Penal Code, three counts of money laundering under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFAPUAA) 2001, and one count of abuse of power under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009.
If convicted, the Pekan MP can be sentenced up to 20 years' jail, whipping and fine for the CBT charges; 20 years' jail and a fine not less than five times the amount involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher, for the abuse of power charge; and 15 years' jail, and a fine up to RM15 million or five times the amount involved, whichever is higher, for the money laundering charges.
The trial, being presided over by judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, is expected to kick off at noon today with testimonies from witnesses who said that several entities – political and non-political alike – received between thousands to millions of ringgit from Ambank accounts linked to Najib.
Last Friday, fifth prosecution witness Badrul Hisham Mohamad, the former manager of Ambank's cheque clearance centre, testified that among the 17 AmIslamic cheques cleared in 2015 include RM1 million to Upko, RM1 million to Penang Umno’s communications unit, RM300,000 to Johor Bahru Umno, and RM50,000 to Padang Serai Umno chief Asmadi Abu Talib.
Badrul Hisham confirmed this after being presented with the cheques, which were among the documents and items seized in a Bank Negara raid on the Jalan Raja Chulan branch of Ambank on July 6, 2015.
The prosecution may also call up more witnesses linked to other entities tied to the cheque transaction trail – such as Vital Spire Sdn Bhd, Zulqarnain & Co, Centre for Strategic Engagement, Lim Soon Peng, Solar Shine Sdn Bhd, and law firm Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak.
Yesterday, the court did not make any ruling on contempt against Najib’s former aide Hizatul Isham Abdul Jalil over the uploading video clips of Friday's court proceedings, which showed two witnesses testifying in court.
The clips showed ABS Trend Master Sdn Bhd owner Zulkarnain (family name not listed by the prosecution) and MOZ Malaysia Sdn Bhd owner Mohammad Zakariyya Zearat Khan testifying on their involvement in constructing a new guard post and water tank respectively at Najib's Jalan Langgak Duta residence.
Zulkarnain and Zakariyya were the sixth and seventh prosecution witnesses respectively.
ABS Trend Master and MOZ Malaysia were also cited in Badrul Hisam’s testimony as recipients of AmIslamic cheques of RM100,000 and RM56,500 respectively.
In his post accompanying the uploaded video clips, Hizatul Isham alleged that there were "problems" with the prosecution's theory that Najib had used SRC International funds for his personal benefit.
He also claimed the prosecution could not prove that Najib ordered SRC International to deposit funds into his personal bank account through two intermediaries.
Hizatul Isham insisted that the renovations were a necessity, as Najib received many visitors at the Langgak Duta home.
Defending his posting of the videos, he said that court rules only prohibit the live streaming of the proceedings or personal recordings, and that the clips originated from the court's own court recording and transcript (CRT) system.
Police are probing the uploading of the clips for illegal disclosure of information under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. It is punishable upon conviction under Section 203A of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum one-year jail sentence, an RM1 million fine, or both.
Attorney-General Tommy Thomas is expected to lead the 13-person prosecution team, comprised of deputy public prosecutors 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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