NAJIB Razak’s last-minute application to enter new evidence in his appeal against his conviction was thrown out today, setting the stage for the verdict to be delivered by the Court of Appeal tomorrow.

The former prime minister was found guilty in July last year of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering linked to RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds. He was fined RM210 million and sentenced to 12 years’ prison.

Judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, leading a three-man panel alongside Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, announced the unanimous decision to dismiss the application, calling it “unnecessary”.

The judges were also stern about the politician’s attendance in court, giving the latter an ultimatum today: appear online or face arrest, after his lawyers sought a postponement on the grounds that he is a Covid-19 close contact.

Najib and his defence team said they will appear via Zoom tomorrow. If his appeal fails, he can make another round of appeal at the Federal Court.

Ad hoc prosecutor V. Sithambaram is leading the prosecution team.

This is a public interest case as it is the first time a former prime minister has been charged and found guilty of multiple charges.

Readers can listen in on the recording of the 95-day trial via the SRC International Trial podcast playlist prepared by The Malaysian Insight.

This case is also the first of several corruption trials that the lawmaker is facing over the multibillion-ringgit 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.

Below is a timeline of the SRC International case:

July 3, 2018

Najib was arrested at his residence in Jalan Langgak Duta, Kuala Lumpur, and brought to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya and held overnight.

July 4, 2018

Najib was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abusing his position with regard to to RM42 million of SRC International funds. The case was then transferred to the High Court.

August 8, 2018

Najib was charged in the High Court with three counts of money laundering involving the said sum, deemed proceeds from unlawful activities.

April 3, 2019

The trial began and the prosecution laid out the case, calling 57 witnesses to the stand.

November 11, 2019

The court ruled that the prosecution has established a prima facie case and ordered Najib to enter his defence on all seven charges.

December 3, 2019

Najib testified for 15 days, armed with a 243-page defence statement and opened himself to cross-examination. He maintained that the RM3.2 billion deposited into his personal bank accounts through 23 transactions between 2011 to 2013 are donations from the Saudi royal family.

March 11, 2020

The defence concluded the case after 33 days of hearing, during which 19 defence witnesses took the stand.

June 1, 2020

The court began hearing oral submissions for four consecutive days.

July 28, 2020

Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali sentenced Najib to 10 years’ prison for each of the three criminal breach of trust charges and three money laundering charges, 12 years’ prison and a RM210 million fine, or five years’ prison, for one abuse of power charge. All sentences are to run concurrently. The court allowed his application to stay the execution pending his appeal and set an RM2 million bail with two sureties.

April 5, 2021

Najib’s appeal hearing begins at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya.

May 18, 2021

The appeal hearing ends.

November 23, 2021

The appellate court announced it will deliver its verdict on December 8. On the same day, Najib applied to vacate the decision date as he will be in Singapore until December 5. The court rejected his application.

December 1, 2021

Najib applied to adduce new evidence in his appeal to the appellate court.

December 2, 2021

Najib said he has been denied a fair trial. He claimed he is in the dark as crucial evidence has been concealed from him by several individuals.

December 6, 2021

Najib’s defence team submitted a request to postpone the hearing and decision after a member of the team tested positive for Covid-19.

December 7, 2021

The Court of Appeal rejected the postponement request and after hearing, dismissed the application to adduce new evidence, calling it “unnecessary”. It announced that the appeal verdict will be delivered tomorrow. – December 7, 2021.