KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed Sept 17 to hear additional evidence from a key prosecution witness in Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s RM1.25bil solar hybrid project case, moving forward despite an impending stay application by the prosecution.
Justice Aslam Zainuddin set the date during case management on Thursday (Sept 10), citing strict orders from the Court of Appeal.
On Sept 1, the appellate court allowed Rosmah's application to adduce new evidence in her appeal against her 2022 conviction and sentence. The panel ordered the case to be remitted to the High Court so that testimony from the 16th prosecution witness, Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah, could be recorded through examination, cross-examination, and re-examination within two weeks.
During Thursday's proceedings, Rosmah's lead counsel, Datuk Jagjit Singh, emphasised the urgency of the appellate court's timeline, noting that the main criminal appeal is already scheduled to resume in October.
Jagjit also informed the court that the prosecution is attempting to stay the High Court proceedings pending its own appeal to the Federal Court to block the admission of the new evidence. "However, no dates have been fixed as yet. We urge Your Lordship to proceed to fix the hearing dates," he said.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Deepa Nair confirmed that the prosecution filed a notice of appeal to the Federal Court on Sept 4, followed by a stay application on Sept 8.
“We have already put in a notice of urgency, so it’s not going to take much time," DPP Deepa said, requesting that the High Court adjourn until the stay application is heard.
This drew an objection from Rosmah’s co-counsel, Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, who argued that the Court of Appeal's two-week deadline must be honoured. “We only need one day. I handled the cross-examination at the High Court and will be doing so here,” he said.
Justice Aslam ruled that the Court of Appeal’s instructions were unambiguous.
“If a stay is granted, then we will take it from there. If not, we will proceed as ordered by the Court of Appeal. If I don’t comply with the order, I will be in contempt of court,” the judge stated before finalising the Sept 17 hearing date.
The additional evidence stems from a motion Rosmah filed on July 21. She sought leave to introduce three key documents: a cover letter from law firm Messrs Shamsuddin & Co, a police report, and a statutory declaration—all dated July 10 and involving Rayyan Radzwill. Rayyan, a former consultant and business partner for Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, was a crucial witness in the original trial.
On Sept 1, 2022, the High Court found Rosmah guilty of three charges of corruption under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
She was convicted of soliciting RM187.5mil and accepting bribes totalling RM6.5mil from former Jepak Holdings managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin. The funds were allegedly channelled through her former aide, Datuk Rizal Mansor, as a reward for helping Jepak Holdings secure a RM1.25 billion direct-negotiation contract from the Education Ministry to provide solar hybrid systems and maintenance for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
Rosmah was sentenced to 10 years in prison for each charge (to be served concurrently) and handed a record RM970mil fine.
The Court of Appeal has granted her a stay of execution pending the final disposal of her appeal. The main appeal is scheduled to be heard on Oct 14.
