PUTRAJAYA – The Court of Appeal was told today that the trial judge in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s SRC International Sdn Bhd case appeared “motivated” to hold the former prime minister to account.
Najib’s counsel Farhan Read submitted this before a three-member bench led by judge Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, in the hearing of Najib’s appeal against his conviction and jail sentence for the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds.
The other two judges on the bench are Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
“There appears to be a desire to hold the accused to account. The judge (Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali) was motivated to hold the accused to account,” he said.
Farhan pointed out that criminal law is not the proper avenue for the accused to be held to account, as the accused was already held to account during the last general election.
The lawyer added that the trial judge’s finding to order the Pekan MP to enter his defence was also highly prejudiced.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court had on July 28 last year sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and a RM210 million fine after finding him guilty on seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of position, involving RM42 million in SRC International funds.
The hearing of the appeal continues. – Bernama, April 13, 2021
