The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd enters its 33rd day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- 'No hanky panky' - Najib's lawyers defend taking exhibits out of court
- Najib enters the dock
'No hanky panky' - Najib's lawyers defend taking exhibits out of court
9.39am - Deputy public prosecutor V Sithambaram says that the defence taking 17 slides of exhibits out of court last Wednesday may amount to tampering of evidence.
He is referring to 17 slides of bank instructions for the transfer of millions of ringgit between SRC International, subsidiary Gandingan Mentari, and CSR partner Ihsan Perdana.
Sithambaram points out that despite the importance of these documents to the proceedings, the slides are missing from court today.
These slides were used by the defence last week to try and prove that former SRC International director Suboh Md Yassin's signatures had been forged between 2014 and 2015 to authorise the transfers.
"All these documents are important, as if not in court, it may amount to tampering.
"This is important as a police report had been made, but the exhibits are not here," he says before judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
Lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (photo) explains that the slides were taken out because the defence wanted to make photocopies in a shop located outside the court.
"There is no hanky panky here, as someone has to photostat it," Shafee says.
Defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh then jumps in and says there is no issue of tampering, especially in light of the importance of the slides in terms of Suboh's changed testimony.
Attorney-General Tommy Thomas counters that as the court is the natural custodian of exhibits, any attempt to remove these from court needs to be done in an open and transparent manner.
The judge then asks the defence to obtain permission from the court before removing any exhibits.
Najib enters the dock
9.38am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the dock as proceedings begin.
9.30am - Najib's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah enters the court. He is seen greeting other members of the defence team while waiting for proceedings to begin.
9.24am - Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak enters court and takes a seat in the front row of the public gallery.
Najib was earlier attending a separate mention of his 1MDB case before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Also seen in court are Attorney-General Tommy Thomas and other members of the prosecution, as well as Najib's defence counsel Yusof Zainal Abiden and other members of the defence.
Is former SRC International director Suboh Md Yassin's testimony actually helping bolster former premier's Najib Abdul Razak's defence in his abuse of power, corruption and money laundering trial involving RM42 million from the company?
This is what lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah implied would be the case, as his client's trial enters its 33rd day before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
After proceedings on July 3, Shafee told the media that Suboh, the 42nd witness, is the answer to proving Najib's innocence.
Over the course of last week, the 68-year-old Suboh agreed with the defence's assertion that his signature on 17 banking instructions between 2014 and 2015 had been forged.
Suboh also testified that he was not aware of the related transactions, which involved authorisation of transfers millions of ringgit linked to the accounts of SRC International, subsidiary Gandingan Mentari, and CSR partner Ihsan Perdana, among others.
However, the witness' oral evidence that SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil emboldened action as though he had a "mountain behind him" may be among testimony that may be further probed by the prosecution during its re-examination of Suboh. - Mkini
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