Rosmah upset and distressed over court decision, says counsel

KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor was upset over the High Court's decision ordering her to enter her defence in her graft trial involving a solar hybrid project in Sarawak, says her lawyer.

Datuk Jagjit Singh told the media that Rosmah was "emotionally upset and distressed" after the verdict delivered by Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan here on Thursday (Feb 18).

"We had to comfort her a little bit and we just told her to go home and remove all the stress that's controlling her ... to relax at home," Jagjit said.

Earlier, Justice Zaini ruled that the court had given maximum evaluation on the prosecution's case and found it had proven a prima facie in its case against Rosmah.

The wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has opted to give her defence by testimony under oath on the witness stand when the defence trial begins on June 9.

Jagjit said the defence team, led by him and co-counsel Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kadir, was saddened by the court's ruling but would give their best to defend Rosmah.

"To say that we are disappointed is an understatement," he said.

Jagjit said that Najib, who is currently embroiled in his own 1Malaysia Development Bhd trial, would be called to testify in her defence.

The defence has five witnesses so far and has been offered some 10 witnesses by the prosecution.

"We need to look into the list to see who we need to call (to testify) or otherwise," he added.