Police probing leaked draft judgment of Najib's verdict under OSA

Police are investigating the leak of a draft judgment for former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s SRC International appeal under the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) and two other laws.

Putrajaya OCPD Asmadi Abdul Aziz said two police reports had been lodged over the matter – both in Putrajaya.

He said police have thus far recorded statements from the complainant and a corporate communications officer.

“Statements from a few others will be recorded,” he told reporters in a text message today.

Asmadi said the case is being investigated under Section 8 of the OSA, which deals with the wrongful communication of an official secret.

Upon conviction, both the sender and recipient can be jailed for between one to seven years. For the recipient, this is unless the recipient can prove he did not wish to receive such communication.

In addition, Asmadi said the case is also being investigated under Section 203A of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA).

Section 203A of the Penal Code pertains to the disclosure of information collected in the performance of a person’s duty under law and is punishable with a fine of up to RM1 million, up to one year’s imprisonment, or both; upon conviction.

Meanwhile, Section 233 of the CMA deals with the abuse of network facilities. If convicted, a person can be fined up to RM50,000, imprisoned for up to a year, or both.

Yesterday, the Federal Court upheld Najib’s conviction in the SRC International case.

Ahead of the verdict, however, a draft of the judgment dated Aug 26 was leaked and subsequently published on the controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s website.

This prompted Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki to demand answers on whether the document was authentic.

“There must be an immediate denial from the court to prevent any negative perception which can tarnish the judiciary’s image,” he said yesterday.

The court registrar’s office later confirmed a draft judgment had been leaked and that the leaked document had not been finalised.

“The final judgment was delivered in open court at around 4pm.

“It was found that the document has been modified,” the registrar said.

It described the leak as a deliberate act to negatively affect the integrity of court operations and administration of justice. - Mkini