1MDB TRIAL | Najib Abdul Razak has been placed on medical leave due to undergoing surgery on both eyes last week.
As a result, the former prime minister’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial today has been postponed to tomorrow.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning allowed the postponement when informed by Najib’s lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah about the eye surgery.
The lawyer told judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah that Najib had the surgery on Thursday, and the former premier was given the medical chit (MC) for seven days beginning Friday last week.
“He (Najib) got intrasient inability. He could not get clear vision, he could not even sign a cheque,” Shafee said, adding that a copy of the medical letter attesting to Najib’s condition has been handed to the court.
However, Sequerah said he would only allow postponement of the trial today but that proceedings will resume tomorrow.
“He (Najib) can just sit there (in the dock) and not exert anything (while following the trial).
“We meet here as usual tomorrow. We give him the day off (from proceedings) today. Trial to resume tomorrow at 9.30am,” the judge told Najib’s defence team during open-court proceedings.
Sequerah added that they would see the situation again tomorrow on whether Najib could attend the trial.
The accused was not seen at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex this morning.
Ahmad Akram Gharib and other deputy public prosecutors appeared for the prosecution.
Najib is on trial for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB's funds.
Besides being the former prime minister, the accused also used to be the finance minister and chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers.
1MDB is fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).
The troubled sovereign wealth fund’s former CEO Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman was set to be cross-examined by Najib’s defence team during proceedings this week.
Besides the postponed hearing, the RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial is also set to resume tomorrow and Thursday this week (there is no trial on Wednesday as it is a Wesak Day national holiday). - Mkini
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