FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and ex-Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah have been granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in their International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) case.
Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin granted the DNAA against the former prime minister and the former company adviser today.
Najib and Irwan were charged in October 2018 and had pleaded not guilty to six counts of CBT involving government funds used as payments to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).
“These are my brief grounds. First, the prosecution failed to abide by Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
”Second, the DNAA does not prejudice the prosecution as they can recharge the accused.
”Third, this case was registered in 2018 but the trial cannot proceed even when trial dates have been set many times. This is an inordinate delay,” he ruled.
Section 51A of the CPC requires the prosecution to provide the accused with certain documents before the commencement of a trial.
Najib and Irwan allegedly committed all the offences at the Finance Ministry Complex in Putrajaya between Dec 21, 2016, and Dec 18, 2017.
They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years, caning, and a fine.
However, since the duo are above 50, they would be spared caning if convicted.
The DNAA simply means that Najib and Irwan can be charged again on similar grounds at a later date. - November 27, 2024
