Najib pending homecoming cut short; court rejects bid to stay 1MDB prison sentence

 

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak won't get to stay at home for long if he can pay the RM50 million fine needed for him to be transferred to house arrest.

This is because the Kuala Lumpur High Court today rejected his application to postpone the execution of his sentences for 1MDB-related charges.

This means that - pending further appeals - when Najib's SRC International sentence ends on Aug 23, 2028, he will have to go back to prison.

In her ruling today, judge Noor Ruwena Nurdin found that there were no special circumstances to allow Najib’s application to stay the execution of his 1MDB sentences.

Huge fine, litany of health problems

Earlier, the court was asked to consider Najib’s health issues, where his lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, claimed that the former prime minister faced 14 separate health conditions, 10 of which are chronic.

Among the conditions highlighted in Najib's application were coronary artery disease, peptic ulcer disease, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, left knee valgus deformity with osteoarthritis, overactive bladder, and pre-diabetes.

To this argument, Ruwena held that the medical report pleaded in Najib’s application gave her the impression that his medical needs are very well taken care of by the government hospitals and experts.

“In a criminal matter, it is always the competing interest of the accused weighed against public interest, including in an application such as the present.

“Having weighed the competing interest of the applicant against public interest considerations, the court does not agree on the medical issues raised (as) the special circumstances test,” she said.

The judge was also asked to consider the “exorbitant” fine Najib has to pay for his SRC International conviction, to which she said the matter does not constitute special circumstances.

“The fines are to be paid if the conviction is upheld. It is now a matter of practice that the accused does not pay yet until the disposal of his final appeal. Hence, there is no compulsion to pay it now.

“If the conviction is set aside, that would be the end of the matter. That is what I understand regarding the law on fines.

“Even if I were to grant a stay on the payments of the fines (in the 1MDB case), this does not change my findings regarding the special circumstances test that the applicant has to surmount,” she said.

Ruwena added that she agrees with the prosecution’s arguments that the gravity of the 1MDB case is a more important public interest consideration, which the court must regard.

Despite agreeing that Article 8 of the Federal Constitution is applicable in a stay application, she said the special circumstances test is to protect the sanctity of the Article, “so that it is correctly applied by an applicant in such cases”.

“Having said that, the court finds that the special circumstances test has not been satisfied by the applicant. Therefore, I find no merit in this application, and it is accordingly dismissed,” she said.

Article 8 of the Constitution - which was referred heavily in Najib’s submissions and the court’s judgment - guarantees equality before the law and freedom from discrimination.

Previously, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur convicted Najib on all four counts of abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges linked to the 1MDB scandal in December last year.

Presiding judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah sentenced him to 15 years’ imprisonment for each of his four abuse of power charges and five years each for the 21 charges of money laundering.

However, Collin ordered that the jail terms run concurrently, meaning Najib would only have to serve 15 years’ imprisonment for the 25 offences committed.

Collin also ordered for Najib’s 1MDB-related sentence to begin after he exhausted the sentences for his SRC International-related convictions.

Najib, 73, then filed his application to stay the sentences on Sept 22 this year, seeking to pause the execution of 15 years’ imprisonment and a RM11.38 billion fine until all his avenues of appeal are exhausted.

No reason for loss

Appearing disappointed and shocked by the verdict, Najib’s legal team said there were no reasons for the application to be dismissed.

“This is especially because the prosecution conceded that this is a 50-50 case for appeal. You imagine that we need only to raise reasonable doubt.

“That means we don’t need to be 50 percent. We need to be whatever percent, but there is a doubt that we raised.

“The prosecution themselves are saying (during submissions) that this is a doubtful conviction, so on that ground alone, the prosecution was kind enough to concede,” Shafee (above) told reporters after the proceedings.

The lawyer will be filing a fresh application for a stay on Najib’s 1MDB sentences at the Court of Appeal, instead of the Federal Court.

“We are confident that we are on the right track. We are absolutely confident (that) we should have been given bail as well as stay today.

“We are not appealing (today’s decision). We are going to the Court of Appeal to file a similar application so we bypass the method of appeal.

“(This is because) for appeal, you’ll need to wait for the court’s judgment, notes of proceedings (among others),” he said.

The defence team has yet to receive any hearing dates on the 1MDB appeal, he added. - Mkini