Najib’s Breach of Trust Case, Irwan Serigar: The Court Gave 2 Weeks Delay
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today gave the prosecution two weeks to complete the breach of trust (CBT) case documents of government funds amounting to RM6.6 billion as payment to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.
The judge, Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin, also admonished the prosecution and defense to discuss since the arrangement of the documents should be perfected during case management.
“I recommend that the parties work together to ensure which documents will be used later.
“Following that, today’s case hearing is postponed until June 13 to give the prosecution a chance to examine the documents before handing them over to the defense. Two weeks is enough; then the trial will start on June 19,” he said.
He said this after the lawyer, Datuk K Kumaraendra, who represented Mohd Irwan, informed him that there are 100 documents that have not been submitted to the defense.
Kumaraendra, who represented Mohd Irwan, who is also the former Chief Secretary of the Treasury, said that among the documents involved were memos of Cabinet meeting letters and e-mail statements of defense witnesses, including recordings of the witnesses’ conversations.
According to him, the remaining documents were not provided, despite several reminders.
“We also informed them that the recording of the client’s conversation was amended during the investigation.
“The document is very important, especially to my client, but it was not given to us at all,” he said.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi said the necessary documents were submitted to the defense four times, from November 29, 2018 to May 21, 2021.
“This morning, I have submitted seven volumes of the necessary documents, involving the statements of witnesses who will be called later.
“Perhaps the necessary documents are contained in the list submitted this morning; if not, we will have to consult with the investigating officer, whether we have confiscated them or otherwise,” he said.
In order to launch the trial, he did not object if the proceedings were postponed to another date.
Meanwhile, the former Prime Minister, who was represented by a lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, also requested the court postpone the trial because there were many more documents that were not submitted by the prosecution.
According to him, they expect the prosecution to submit to the defense by Tuesday at the latest.
“These documents that are not prepared will cause a lot of delays in the event of a trial,” he said.
Muhammad Shafee, who also handled the corruption and money laundering case involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds and the SRC International Sdn Bhd civil suit, said the defense was exhausted to complete the handover in July.
“If Yang Arif insists, we can decide the date because there are days in between; I’m sure we can find a day; otherwise, this trial will only start in 2025,” he said.
On March 3, 2022, Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin rejected the application of Najib, 71, and Mohd Irwan, 68, for them to be released without being acquitted of all charges on the grounds that the prosecution was ready to conduct the case.
On October 25, 2018, Najib and Mohd Irwan pleaded not guilty to six charges of breach of trust over Malaysian government property amounting to RM6.6 billion related to payments to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).
The offense was allegedly committed at the Finance Ministry Complex in Putrajaya between December 21 and December 18, 2017.
The charge was made under Section 409 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and caning and can be fined if convicted.
