KUALA LUMPUR: The decision to turn Datuk Seri Rizal Mansor into a prosecution witness against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor was justified and correctly exercised, said prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram.
The lead prosecutor in Rosmah’s solar hybrid project corruption case explained that prosecutors have the discretion to turn a person charged for a crime into a witness in order to secure a conviction.
"This is prosecutorial discretion. Sometimes, it is necessary for the public prosecutor to weigh the balance between who has committed the crime and whose evidence is necessary to charge an individual.
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"For example, if you have a gang of robbers, and three are being charged but the fourth is giving evidence against them, there's nothing unusual about that, it is normal.
"The public prosecutor has the discretion to withdraw the charge against one or more persons so they can be witnesses.
"Otherwise, the crime will never be proved," said Sri Ram to reporters after Rosmah’s trial ended.
Rosmah, the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was sentenced by the High Court to 10 years' jail on each of three corruption charges involving a RM1.25bil hybrid solar project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
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She was also fined RM970mil.
Rosmah was found guilty of one count of soliciting RM187.5mil and two counts of accepting bribes - RM1.5mil and RM5mil - from the former managing director of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, Saidi Abang Samsudin.
The bribe was allegedly received through Rizal, who was Rosmah’s former aide, as a reward to help Jepak Holdings obtain the Integrated Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Hybrid System Project as well as genset/diesel maintenance and operations for 369 schools worth RM1.25bil through direct negotiation from the Education Ministry.
Rizal was initially charged with four counts of graft relating to the same solar hybrid project but was acquitted in January 2020.
