KUALA LUMPUR – The much anticipated 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial involving Datuk Seri Najib Razak will finally start on Aug 19.
High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah fixed the date after rejecting Attorney-General (AG) Tommy Thomas’ request for the case to be postponed until Najib’s trial involving abuse of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds is completed.
The court had previously fixed the 1MDB trial to commence on Aug 19 until Aug 29 and resume on Sept 2 and run until Nov 14, except on Fridays.
Sequerah rejected the application after noting that this was the third time the prosecution was seeking a postponement.
The AG had on June 21 also applied for a postponement of the 1MDB trial stating that Najib’s SRC International trial was moving slower than expected.
He applied to the court to vacate the dates in August and September which were fixed for the 1MDB trial to make way for the SRC International’s trial to continue.
He said the 1MDB’s trial could start in October.
Thomas said they had called 40 witnesses in the trial (SRC International) and are expected to call 25 more.
On May 14, Sequerah agreed to a second postponement of the 1MDB trial to Aug 19, to make way for the ongoing SRC International trial.
The SRC International trial was earlier expected to be concluded this month.
On Sept 20 last year, Najib was charged with 25 corruption counts involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB money.
His first four charges were framed under Section 23(1) and 24(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009; while the other 21 charges were under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 (AMLATFA).
For the charges under the MACC Act, the 66-year-old was accused of using his position as prime minister, finance minister and chairman of the 1MDB advisory board at the time, to receive bribes on four occasions.
Meanwhile, the money-laundering charges include nine counts of receiving illegal proceeds, five counts of using illegal proceeds and seven counts of transferring the proceeds to other entities.
– NST
Should declared a public holiday and holding the rights to live telecast or pay per view all over the world. Probably a demand from alien of other planets as well. Just Imagine a small country with kleptocracy at its worst.
ReplyDelete1. What a hit never before.
2. Box office trial since human existence.
3. World top of the chart trial maybe forever.
4. Mother of all corruption trial.
COMING SOON
RED GRANITE PICTURE
WOLF OF 1MDB