THERE will be no hybrid hearing for Najib Razak’s RM2.28 billion corruption trial while the former prime minister is under Covid-19 quarantine, the High Court ruled today.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah rejected the prosecution’s application for a hybrid hearing until Najib’s quarantine ends tomorrow.

“After considering the parties’ oral submissions and reflecting on the matter, I decided against hybrid proceedings, but I will not rule it out sometime in the future,” he said today.

The 1Malaysia Development Bhd-Tanore trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court will resume on Thursday for one day.

Four replacement dates have also been set next month – January 5, 6, 26 and 27.

Both were close contacts of a Covid-19-positive individual, namely Muhammad Farhan Shafee, who is Shafee’s son and a member of the defence team.

The prosecution had asked the court to consider conducting the trial remotely, but the defence objected and stated the importance of running cross-examinations involving witnesses physically.

When trial resumes, the defence will cross-examine the 12th and 13th prosecution witnesses – former chief financial officer Azmi Tahir and former 1MDB director Ismee Ismail.

Najib, 68, is facing 25 charges of abuse of power and money-laundering regarding RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.

The Pekan MP faces up to 20 years in prison. – December 14, 2021.