KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — The High Court here today dismissed applications by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving RM6.6 billion in government funds.
Lawyers Datuk Seri K. Kumaraendran and Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, representing Irwan and Najib, respectively, applied for the DNAA on the grounds that the prosecution failed to submit complete documents on the case for the defence to examine before the trial began.
Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin, in dismissing the DNAA applications, gave the prosecution three months from August to submit all the documents and postponed the trial to November 14.
“All parties are asked to be ready as the case will continue on that date. Three months is sufficient for the prosecution to submit all the remaining documents before the trial begins.
“Please note the final date for the hearing. No more postponement,” said the judge.
Earlier, Kumaraendran told the court the documents not submitted by the prosecution were important as they were referred to his clients during an investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“I would like to make a note that we have not received the documents since the last order was made, where the prosecution said they would apply for the documents to be declassified. However, the deputy public prosecutor said they do not know when the documents will be declassified.
“If the prosecution insists on continuing (the trial) without the documents, my client will not get a fair trial. Therefore, I am asking for this case to be DNAA,” he said.
Farhan cited the same reason for applying for the DNAA for Najib.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi objected to the DNAA application, on the grounds that the process of declassifying documents depended on the ministry involved, and the prosecution had no authority to determine it.
On October 24, 2018, Najib, 70, and Irwan, 66, pleaded not guilty to six charges of CBT of RM6.6 billion in government funds involving payments to the International Petroleum Investment Company.
Najib and Irwan were jointly accused of committing the offences at the Finance Ministry Complex, Putrajaya, between December 21, 2016, and December 18, 2017.
They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for a maximum of 20 years in jail, whipping, and a fine, upon conviction.
— Bernama
