The Kuala Lumpur High Court has postponed Najib Abdul Razak’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial due to the former premier suffering from diarrhoea.
The hearing was scheduled for today and tomorrow.
Kajang Prison medical officer Dr Mohd Hafiz Mohd Hoshni told the court this afternoon that the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) has issued a two-day medical leave for Najib.
Summoned for an explanation by trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, Hafiz said that an assistant medical officer at the prison informed him that Najib was having a stomach ache and diarrhoea since last night.
“Around 7.30am, I examined him. I asked him what was the issue and he said he had a stomach ache and went to the toilet to defecate four times.
“Then I gave him charcoal (tablets) and after 10 minutes, he said he was still feeling the same. Then I examined him further and found he had mild dehydration and a slight fever with a temperature of 37.8 degrees,” he added.
Hafiz said he then referred Najib to HKL and the accused was brought there between 9.30am and 10am this morning.
Responding to a question from deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib, the medical officer said Najib looked “tired, lethargic and dehydrated.”
“He (Najib) is unfit to attend trial as he was given drips (intravenous fluids) and is unable to stand or sit for long,” Hafiz said.
Referred to HKL for better treatment
The medical officer, in answering lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said he had to refer Najib to HKL so that the accused has access to better treatment from specialists there.
Sequerah then postponed the trial and directed that proceedings resume on Thursday.
Najib is facing four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion from 1MDB.
For the four abuse of power charges, the former finance minister allegedly committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.
On the 21 money laundering counts, the accused is alleged to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.
1MDB was a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).
Najib had also served as the chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisors. - Mkini
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