Nov 6 for decision on amendment of charges in Najib’s trial

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here fixed Nov 6 to deliver its decision on the prosecution’s bid to amend three charges involving power abuse and money laundering in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial.

Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah set the date yesterday after the former premier’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, told the judge that the defence team needed more time to prepare submissions against the prosecution’s amendment bid.

“My Lord, we need more time to assemble the factual matrix of the case in relation to the three charges that prosecutors wanted to amend.

“We have noticed that apart from people like former 1MDB chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Ambank relationship manager Joanna Yu and Ambank branch manager R. Uma Devi, there are a few more witnesses that we have to go through to complete the factual matrix,” he said.

Meanwhile, deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar submitted that the prosecution had no objections to this and added that they also needed time to prepare further submissions.

“My Lord, the prosecution’s witness on standby today is assistant director of the Anti-Money Laundering Criminal Investigation Division ACP Foo Wei Min. But he is on medical leave as he is ill with gout,” said the prosecutor.

After hearing the matter, Sequerah then vacated yesterday’s proceedings to Nov 6 and said the decision on the prosecution’s bid to amend the three charges would be ruled on the said date.“On that date, I will deliver my decision for both the amendment to the three charges and admissibility of documentation, then we can proceed with ACP Foo,” the judge said.

The admissibility of documentation issue refers to the defence team’s objections against the prosecutors’ intent to admit several bank documents linked to ACP Foo’s testimony. — Bernama