Najib gets 30 day extension to file petition of appeal in SRC case

PUTRAJAYA – Datuk Seri Najib Razak has obtained a 30-day extension to file his petition of appeal in his SRC international Sdn Bhd case.

A Court of Appeal three-man panel comprising Justices Datuk Has Zanah Mehat, Datuk Lee Swee Seng and Datuk Nordin Hassan allowed Najib's application for time to be extended to enable him to file the petition of appeal after the prosecution did not object to it.

Lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, representing Najib, applied for extension of time beginning Sept 18 until Oct 18 to file the petition of appeal.

He told the court that the reason for applying for time to be extended was because the records of appeal consisted of 112 volumes and the High Court's grounds of judgment is 801 pages long.

"In the interest of substantive justice, we do need time to adequately prepare the petition," he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul informed the court that the prosecution has no objection to the application.

According to court procedure, the defence in Najib's appeal has 10 days to file the petition of appeal after receiving the records of appeal. The due date to file the petition of appeal is on Monday (Sept 28).

Najib is appealing against his conviction, 12 years jail sentence and RM210 million fine imposed on him by the High Court on July 28, this year.

The 67-year-old former prime minister was found guilty on seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of position involving RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.

Najib was sentenced to 12 years jail for the offence related to abuse of power, 10 years jail each for three criminal breach of trust offences. 

The Pekan MP was also sentenced to 10 years jail for each of the three counts of money laundering. The High Court ordered that all sentences to run concurrently. 

Najib is currently out on a RM2 million bail in two sureties pending appeal in the Court of Appeal.

The prosecution, meanwhile, has also filed a notice of appeal on Aug 11, this year against the sentence imposed on Najib by the High Court. However, it is learnt that the prosecution has yet to file its petition of appeal. 

Najib's appeal is fixed for case management on Oct 2.

The former prime minister was exempted from attending today's court proceedings. – Bernama, September 25, 2020