KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Najib Razak is at the Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital (CRH) because he needs physiotherapy, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today.
He also said Najib, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence for graft, is not being given special treatment. He is also facing other criminal trials related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Media reported Khairy saying that the deputy public prosecutor had requested proceedings be adjourned so that Najib could be given medical attention.
Khairy said Najib was referred to Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL), and after going through tests there, he was referred to CRH because his follow-up treatment required physiotherapy.
“He will be discharged once the specialists are satisfied that he no longer requires to be admitted,” Khairy was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini at a press conference today.
Khairy’s remarks support a statement by the Prison Department earlier today that Najib was transferred to CRH for further treatment and observation.
The department said the Pekan MP was referred to CRH on September 19, on the advice of HKL doctors, and that he would only return to Kajang Prison to continue serving his sentence once he gets medical clearance from specialists.
He was first sent to HKL on September 12 after he complained of pain due to high blood pressure resulting from a change of medication, forcing his high court trial on the 1MDB corruption case to be adjourned and vacated.
He began his prison sentence on August 23 after the Federal Court upheld the high court’s guilty verdict in his SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
The department’s statement today comes amid allegations spreading online that Najib, who is reportedly codenamed “merpati” (pigeon), has been granted liberal access to the outside world.
The message, which has been making the rounds, alleged that Najib would be moved to CRH to allow him better access to visitors, especially family and friends – and that the former prime minister would also supposedly spend most of his 12-year sentence there.
The message also claimed that Najib’s prison cell has been renovated, with RM3.5 million being spent on his health, transport, and accommodation. – The Vibes, September 21, 2022
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