KUALA LUMPUR: The RM970mil fine imposed by the High Court against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has set the record as the highest fine imposed in a corruption case under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
The amount imposed on Rosmah far surpassed that of her husband, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was fined RM210mil in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
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On Thursday (Sept 1), Rosmah was found guilty of one count of soliciting RM187.5mil and two counts of accepting bribes - for RM1.5mil and RM5mil, respectively - from the former managing director of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, Saidi Abang Samsudin.
The bribe was allegedly received through her former aide Datuk Rizal Mansor 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.
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"The accused is fined RM970mil in default of 10 years' jail for each count," Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said in his decision.
Under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act, Rosmah faced a maximum of 20 years in jail and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification, upon conviction.
The breakdown of Rosmah's fine is as follows:
1. First charge: RM937.5mil fine
2. Second charge: RM7.5mil fine
3. Third charge: RM25mil fine
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The RM970mil fine is in default of a 30-year jail term where the court ordered Rosmah to serve 10 years in jail if she fails to pay each of the fines, and this jail time is ordered to run concurrently.
Meanwhile, for the mandatory jail time, the court sentenced Rosmah to 10 years in jail for each of the charges, to run concurrently from the date of judgment.
Earlier, Rosmah's lawyer Datuk Jagjit Singh mitigated for a lenient sentence for Rosmah.
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He sought for his client to be imposed with just a day in jail for each of the charges, to run concurrently.
"She has an unblemished character, she has been of service to the nation," the lawyer said.
Jagjit said Rosmah was a victim of circumstance and a victim of name-dropping.
He asked the court to consider Rosmah's contributions to the country, namely her brainchild the Permata programme that was recognised not only nationally but internationally.
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Meanwhile, lead prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram told the court to consider the gravity of the offence instead.
"The purpose here is to send a message to would-be offenders. Corruption is the most vile of diseases that can attack the society," he said.
He urged the court to give the maximum or near maximum jail time for Rosmah.
For the fine, the prosecutor said the law provision had already spelled out the proportion of the time, which was no less than five times the amount of gratification.
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At this point, Rosmah, who was sitting in the dock, muttered under her breath "kill me".
Jagjit also applied for a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal. This was not objected by the prosecution.
"The sentence is therefore suspended, including the payment of fine. The RM2mil bail is to be extended," Justice Zaini said.
The full text of Justice Zaini's judgment can be found below.
