KUALA LUMPUR – Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal to overturn her conviction in her corruption case in relation to the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project in Sarawak.
She also seeks to quash her 10-year imprisonment and RM970 million fine handed down by the high court yesterday.
Rosmah’s lawyer, Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, told The Vibes that Rosmah has also filed an appeal on the application to recuse high court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.
He confirmed that the appeals were filed today via email.
Prior to reading his judgement yesterday, Zaini had dismissed Rosmah’s application to recuse him from presiding over the trial.
She cited concerns over the danger of bias following a purported draft judgement, prepared by a third party, that was leaked and published by the Malaysia Today website.
In his judgement for the recusal application, Zaini said the documents that formed the application were based on opinions written by the Research Unit of the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
“The draft judgments were not prepared by me, nor were they prepared based on my instructions but they remain just that, opinions.
“They are not my grounds, nor did I rely or use them as a working draft for my judgement.
“I hope the research division will forgive me for saying this but I did not read the opinions. I’ve done my own research and was assisted by counsel in this case, by their well-written submissions.”
He added that, “I’ve always done my work, as laborious as (it is), and I’ve written more than 200 judgments to date”.
“Now, anyone can form their own opinions but at the end of the day, the only opinion that matters is my own.
“That will form the basis for my decision.”
Rosmah, 70, was charged with one count of soliciting RM187.5 million and two counts of receiving bribes of RM6.5 million from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd’s former managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin through her former special officer Datuk Rizal Mansor.
The kickbacks were allegedly an inducement to help Jepak Holdings secure the hybrid photovoltaic solar system integrated project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak, worth RM1.25 billion. – The Vibes, September 2, 2022
