Courts postpone hearings of Isa Samad and Rosmah cases

 

The continued hearings of cases involving Isa Samad and Rosmah Mansor have been affected by the CMCO.

KUALA LUMPUR: The oral submissions at the close of the defence case in the corruption trial of former Felda chairman Isa Samad has been rescheduled to Dec 4.

Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz said the proceedings, earlier scheduled on Wednesday, were taken off the list as the conditional movement control order (CMCO) had been extended.

“Parties were informed of the new date by the court last week,” Afzainizam said.

The graft trial of Rosmah Mansor, wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, which was scheduled to resume today and last until Thursday, will commence on Nov 16, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib said.

The current CMCO in the Klang Valley was initially enforced from Oct 14 until Oct 27, but it has now been extended to Nov 9.

The defence and prosecution in the Isa Samad trial had submitted their written submissions last month, as instructed by trial judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

On June 16, Isa was ordered to enter his defence on nine corruption charges of receiving more than RM3 million in kickbacks for approving the purchase of a hotel in Kuching.

Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Felda, purchased the Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites from Gegasan Abadi Properties Sdn Bhd for RM160 million in 2014.

The defence, led by Salehuddin Saidin, closed its case on Sept 3 after calling six witnesses

In the Rosmah Mansor trial, former education minister Mahdzir Khalid, a prosecution witness, was slated to be recalled for cross-examination by the defence before trial judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.

The court was also to hear the prosecution’s application to include an audio recording of the alleged conversation involving Rosmah and Najib as evidence in court.

Rosmah is charged with three counts of corruption for soliciting RM187.5 million from Saidi Abang Samsudin, the former managing director of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, as an inducement to help the company secure a RM1.25 billion solar project through direct negotiations.

She is also accused of receiving bribes amounting to RM6.5 million from Saidi in 2016 and 2017. - FMT