KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed Aug 12 for the decision in an application filed by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor to stay a court-mandated payment of RM67.5mil to Lebanese-based jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL over 43 pieces of jewellery that were not returned to them.
Judicial Commissioner Marianne Antoinette Ghani set the date after hearing submissions on the stay application by the parties here on Wednesday (Aug 5).
"I am inclined to reserve judgment in this matter. Perhaps we can get another date within about a week's time," she said before fixing the date.
On June 10, the High Court ordered Rosmah to pay RM67,461,027.37 to the jeweller within a month's time after the court found her to be liable for the missing pieces said to be within her custody.
Rosmah is seeking to stay the payment pending her appeal against the decision at the Court of Appeal.
In the stay application, Rosmah's lawyer Reza Rahim contended that Global Royalty was a foreign entity with no presence or assets in Malaysia and was not listed in the First Schedule of the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1958 (REJA), therefore granting a stay should be "inevitable".
REJA is a Malaysian law that allows for the fast registration and enforcement of monetary judgments from superior courts in specific reciprocating countries, which Lebanon is not a part of.
"She (Rosmah) only has one bank account left which contains about RM100,000. All of her assets are frozen in injunction by the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) lawsuits.
“My client has been very candid by telling you what she has and what she doesn't", Reza said.
The lawyer also submitted that it was doubtful for Rosmah to recover her money from the plaintiff in the event that she succeeds in her appeal.
"The plaintiff does nothing to alleviate the fear that the sanctity of the appeal would be preserved," Reza added.
Meanwhile, lawyer Venothani Rajagopal, who appeared for Global Trading, objected to the application.
She submitted that there was no evidence before the court that the company was insolvent or that it had not assets.
"There is no evidence that the plaintiff won't be able to or willing to make any restitution. Here, the defendant again did not produce any evidence that the plaintiff would be unable or unwilling to repay the judgment sum," she said.
Venothani said being a mere foreign incorporation was an "insufficient" reason to warrant a stay of execution.
Global Royalty filed the suit on May 29, 2023, claiming that Rosmah had falsely claimed that 44 pieces of jewellery, including diamond necklaces, bracelets and tiaras, sent to her by the company's agent, were seized by Malaysian authorities under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
The jeweller said only one out of 44 pieces they owned was retained by the police.
They further claimed that Rosmah had shifted the blame to the Malaysian Government when the jewellery had in fact gone missing.
On June 10, High Court judge Justice Quay Chew Soon found that the 43 pieces of jewellery were delivered to Rosmah for viewing under a consignment arrangement and it remained the plaintiff's property as Rosmah did not purchase the jewellery.
He said the legal consequences flowing therefrom became unavoidable, and the law imposed a burden upon Rosmah to properly account for the fate of the jewellery while under her custody.
Rosmah's defence stated that the jewellery was moved from the official residence of the prime minister at Seri Perdana to the Pavilion unit and was subsequently seized by police during the raid on May 17, 2018.
The court then allowed the plaintiff's claim against Rosmah and ordered her to pay RM67,461,027.37 to the plaintiff within one month, and RM75,000 in costs each to the plaintiff and the third parties.
Rosmah filed an appeal on June 12. The hearing of the appeal is pending.
