PUTRAJAYA – Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has failed in her bid to nullify her corruption trial linked to the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid panel project at the Court of Appeal.
Judge Datuk Hanipah Farikullah also dismissed the defence’s appeal to recuse former federal judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram from leading the prosecution in the case.
Hanipah said she came to the decision after considering the arguments from both the defence and the prosecution teams.
She said that the decision was made as the court has no jurisdiction to hear the appeal as the reliefs sought by the defence do not come under its powers.
“It is our considered view that the high court, in the exercise of the criminal jurisdiction, has no jurisdiction and power to grant the reliefs sought by the appellant.
“The reliefs sought are purely declaratory orders specifically provided for under the Specific Relief Act 1950. Accordingly, both of the appeals are hereby dismissed,” she said today.
The wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was appealing the high court’s decision on September 24 to throw out her bid to nullify her entire corruption case and to be acquitted of all charges, and disqualify Sri Ram as the lead prosecutor.
The basis of Rosmah’s application is the validity of Sri Ram’s letter of appointment as the senior deputy public prosecutor.
At the time, high court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan had ruled that Sri Ram’s appointment by then attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas in August 2018 is valid.
Rosmah is facing three separate charges for alleged corruption in securing a RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project to equip 369 schools in rural Sarawak with solar hybrid power.
For the first, she is charged with 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 Samsuddin through her former special officer Datuk Rizal Mansor.
For the second charge, Rosmah is alleged to have dishonestly received for herself RM1.5 million from Saidi for the same purpose at her residence in Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta, on September 7, 2017.
Rosmah is also facing a third charge of accepting gratification of RM5 million from Saidi through Rizal for helping Jepak Holdings secure the same project on December 20, 2016, at the Seri Perdana residence in Putrajaya between January 2016 and September 2017.
Today’s proceedings were supposed to take place on December 2, but Rosmah failed to attend court as she was still in Singapore then, allegedly breaching a court order issued on October 15.
Sri Ram had then pushed for an arrest warrant following her absence but the three-member bench denied the application, reportedly because Rosmah had not skipped her high court proceedings.
Previously, the high court had allowed for Rosmah’s passport to be returned to her to allow her to visit her pregnant daughter in Singapore.
She was supposed to return to Malaysia by November 21 and return her passport by today, December 6. – The Vibes, December 6, 2021
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