Judge ticks off Najib’s defence team for repetitive arguments

Hailey Chung Wee Kye Hailey Chung Wee Kye Updated 3 years ago · Published on 8 Apr 2021 11:36AM · 3 Comments

Judge Abdul Karim Abdul tells Najib Razak’s defence team to stop repeating facts and stick to points of law during arguments in the former prime minister’s SRC International appeal case. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Nazir Sufari, April 8, 2021.

NAJIB Razak’s defence team was today sternly warned by the Court of Appeal not to keep on repeating the same arguments in the former prime minister’s appeal against his conviction and sentencing in his SRC International corruption case.

“You are repeating again and again on the facts,” said judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil today, the fourth day of the appeal hearing.

Judge Karim – leading a three-man bench which includes judges Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera – reminded lawyer Harvinderjit Singh to make his arguments clear and “to relate it to the offences”.

Karim also told the lawyer not to use “overlapping” points and facts.

“I understand that you’re trying to force and emphasise on the points, but we are aware of that, it’s the Court of Appeal!” said Karim, adding that the defence should move on to touching on issues of law.

The defence team had from the start of Najib’s appeal argued on High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali’s inexperience and alleged incompetence “to handle this trial of the century”.

They alleged that the trial judge’s findings were “erroneous”.

Defence lawyers also submitted at length that the misappropriation of funds was under the control of third parties orchestrated by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, famously known as Jho Low.

The defence have avoided answering directly to the judge’s queries on the matter of the money ending up in Najib’s account, and also as to why Jho Low had used their client’s account to pump the money into.

On July 28, 2020, Nazlan convicted and sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and fined him RM210 million for seven charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), money-laundering and abuse of position, involving RM42 million of SRC International funds.

Najib has submitted 307 grounds in his petition of appeal on why he should be cleared of the charges. The Pekan MP is currently on bail of RM2 million in two sureties pending appeal.

The appeal, which is set for three weeks, had arranged the first week to hear the defence’s submission, followed by the prosecution team taking the second week.

The hearing continues. – April 8, 2021.

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Comments

  • Basically, defence got nothing.

    Posted 3 years ago by Francis Anthony · Reply

    • Foot dragging tactic to last until the next UMNO friendly government is in office after the GE.

      Posted 3 years ago by Anwar Ismail · Reply

  • Every now and then Najis would made comments about the nation well being through his FB postings of course as a free person he is able to do so which to me is a stark contras when he was in the PM office where he avoided the press and comments about hot flash issues such as NFC, Sabah CM got caught with cash, Isa cases and of course on his famous 1MDBloody and I won't go to the C4 bid. He has always engaged people to do his work so much so he has never even carry his own luggage and now engaging lawyers who seems to run out of ideas. Najis I just want to see you comment of your own doing in your FB posting if you got guts and don't hide under the pretext it's still a court case where you don't want to interfere cause you had interfere with us Malaysians lives with the fact that such huge sum of tax payers monies in your private bank account. You are a disgrace to us Malaysians except to those people you had fed with the ill gotten money.

    Posted 3 years ago by Teruna Kelana · Reply