YOURSAY | ‘Section 51A of the CPC requires disclosure before trial, not at defence’s convenience.’
'355 pages in CD format at eleventh hour' – Shafee cries unfair
Gerard Lourdesamy: Does lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah not know how to print from the CD? This is a paperless government. We want to conserve trees instead of kleptocrats.
Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) requires disclosure before the trial and not at the convenience of the defence.
Since pre-trial discovery was given at the case management, Shafee has nothing to complain about. It would seem that it is Shafee who is not ready to go to trial.
Anonymous #45527285: Shafee should read Section 51A of the CPC. The documents are not given to the defence on the day the accused is charged.
According to Section 51A, documents must be given to the accused before the commencement of trial. The trial date has not even been fixed.
So what is Shafee talking about? He should not be playing politics in a court case.
Panorama123: Not enough time to review the documents? Hello, trial dates have not even been set yet.
Even if trial dates are set for October 2018 (which is highly unlikely), adequate time of more than one month should be given to prepare for the cases.
Let’s see the outcome of these court cases based strictly on rule of law and an independent judiciary. These cases must be expedited in view of the magnitude of the matter and of high public interest.
Anonymous 1689721435778173: Shafee, remember, that's how they used to pass laws under the old regime. They gave the drafts to the MPs at the last minute with little time for debate before they passed the laws.
You are a hotshot lawyer so you should be able to read the documents and advise your client accordingly in a short time.
Sirach: Shafee is playing every card in his deck, with his attempt to discredit the prosecution being one. To be fair, he's doing his job as a good counsel.
But this time, I hope his strategy doesn’t work. There should be an overwhelming case against his client, with, one expects, even more serious charges to come.
We can’t wait for the main event, 1MDB. This SRC business, while involving very large sums, is a pittance compared to the 1MDB plunder.
Najib claims trial to new and amended charges, gag order hearing on Fri
Vijay47: I think I have seen this movie before. It’s the latest by Sanjay Leela Bhanzali, isn't it? No, not "Padmavat", the one after that.
The story is about a stout little boy from a little town who by dint of hard work, family legacy, divine providence, and his wife’s frugal habits from childhood was able to accumulate a sizeable amount of wealth supposedly to be used for the greater glory of race, religion and royalty.
Along the way he receives fabulous help from an Arab genie and a char koay teow seller from Penang. Some of the location shooting was on board a yacht.
But fortune soon deserts him for browner pastures, or so he claims, until his grandchildren have no money for milk and he himself cannot indulge in the small luxury of quinoa chocolates, Swiss of course.
But such is the affection the people bear for him that they sell their modest assets and tearfully donate their savings for him to pay annoying things like bail money and fees for his lawyer Shakuni. Meanwhile, his son heads off to Taiwan to follow the World Cup.
I forgot how the movie ends but I think that at the final fade-out, our hero is heading towards Sungai Buloh. Your cue, Lata Mangeshkar.
I am just confused about one small matter - why and how was bail for today's charges "extended"?
"Today's charges" saw the light of day only today and the existing bail was in respect of the previous charges which are completely different from today's.
Since former premier Najib Abdul Razak was facing fresh charges, a new bail should have been imposed.
By resorting to the earlier bail, the prosecution was being very unfair to Najib's supporters who would have been waiting anxiously to donate more money to the poor man's cause.
The Wakandan: Treat him with dignity and respect, for it is not about him but about the sanctity of the law of the country.
Let the law be applied accordingly but tempered with mercy and justice. The law is not to humiliate him, humans do that.
The law is to mete justice and he must face whatever is the consequence, as everybody stands equal before the law.
Behsaikong: The Wakandan is right. Ensure that the focus is on the charges and the accused should be scrupulously treated fairly. Justice should be done and seen to be done.
The accused has himself already done and committed enough to be charged and tried in court. There is no point in doing anything in this trial which could jeopardise its integrity.
Let there be a just trial which leads to a just verdict and just sentence.
This must be done so well that no present office-bearer and servant of the nation should ever dare think, let alone commit, atrocities against country and people.
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