Court declines arrest warrant request after counsel clarifies Rosmah's no-show
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of ex-premier Najib Abdul Razak, has not returned from Singapore to attend her Court of Appeal hearing despite the High Court having issued an order for her to return on or before Nov 21.
Prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram asked the Appeals Court judges to issue an arrest warrant, but they made a unanimous decision to withhold the warrant after hearing from her lawyer Jagjit Singh that it was "an oversight", and he takes full responsibility for her absence...
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of ex-premier Najib Abdul Razak, has not returned from Singapore to attend her Court of Appeal hearing despite the High Court having issued an order for her to return on or before Nov 21.
Prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram asked the Appeals Court judges to issue an arrest warrant, but they made a unanimous decision to withhold the warrant after hearing from her lawyer Jagjit Singh that it was "an oversight", and he takes full responsibility for her absence.
Another of Rosmah's counsels, Akberdin Abdul Kader, told Malaysiakini that the Court had actually excused her attendance today through a letter to them.
"What is important is that she must return her passport on or before Dec 6.
"Anyway, She will be in court on Monday, Dec 6, 9 am without fail," he told Malaysiakini.
Akberdin clarified that while Rosmah was originally due to return by Nov 21, she decided to return later due to the introduction of the Vaccinated Travel Lane.
"This is because there is no quarantine needed as announced by the government and not deliberately done," he added.
Yesterday, Najib's daughter, Nooryana Najwa, posted a picture on social media of him carrying his new grandson Aidan Najib Daniyar while Rosmah held the baby's hand.
The boy had been born on Nov 1, although Najib postponed his visit to Singapore to campaign for Umno/BN in the recent Malacca state elections.
Najib is a convicted felon who was sentenced to 12 years in jail, and an Appeals Court verdict on his SRC International corruption conviction is due on Dec 8.
Rosmah is facing three charges under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009.
In the first charge, she is accused of soliciting RM187.5 million in bribes from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd to help secure an Education Ministry project.
The RM1.25 billion project was intended to supply power to 369 rural schools in Sarawak using a combination of solar and diesel energy.
In the second and third charges, she is accused of receiving RM1.5 million and RM5 million in bribes, respectively, as a reward for securing the project.
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