KUALA LUMPUR – The high court will hear committal proceedings brought by the attorney-general against former Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam for allegedly intimidating a witness in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on March 18.
The witness is Najib’s former special officer, Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin.
Deputy public prosecutor T. Deepa Nair said the hearing will be before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
“The court has ordered the prosecution and the respondent (Lokman) to file the written submission on February 18 and, if there is an additional argument, it must be filed on March 4," she said after case management before Sequerah today.
On January 14 last year, Sequerah had rejected Lokman's application to set aside the leave obtained by the AG after finding that the fact and the nature of the alleged contempt were sufficiently brought to the attention of the respondent (Lokman).
He ruled that a show-cause notice had been issued to Lokman and the public prosecutor complied with Order 52 of Rule 2B of the Rules of Court 2012.
On May 13 last year, Lokman lost his appeal in the Court of Appeal to set aside the leave obtained by Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, who was the then AG, to commence committal proceedings against him (Lokman) for allegedly intimidating a witness in Najib’s 1MDB case.
The appellate court's three-member panel led by justice Datuk Yaacob Md Sam ruled that the high court did not make any error when allowing the AG's leave application to commence the contempt proceedings.
Sequerah granted the leave to the AG on October 22, 2019, to initiate committal proceedings against Lokman for contempt of court act perpetrated on two occasions on September 25, 2019.
Thomas, 68, who was appointed as AG on June 4, 2018 by then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for a two-year term to replace Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, and resigned from the post on February 29 last year, initiated the committal proceeding, seeking an order for Lokman to be committed to prison or be fined for his action.
According to Thomas, on September 25, 2019, Lokman had uttered words in a video interview constituting an express or implied threat against Amhari Efendi for having given evidence in the former prime minister’s trial at the high court. – Bernama, January 27, 2021
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