Rosmah's defence was mere denial, RM6.5m bribe meant for her - judge

The High Court ruled that RM6.5 million in bribes was meant for Rosmah Mansor and she received the money at her residences at Jalan Langgak Duta in Kuala Lumpur and at Seri Perdana, Putrajaya.

Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan in his written judgment noted that Rosmah denied receiving two knapsacks containing RM1.5 million cash and the only thing that purportedly transpired that day was former Jepak Holdings managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin asking for her help with the water-well project he intended to propose to the Education Ministry.

“Unlike the RM5 million cash, Rizal Mansor, at that time Rosmah’s former aide, was not accused of taking the two knapsacks with the cash for himself.

“The accused merely denied she had seen the knapsacks and that Saidi told her he had brought the money as promised, to which the accused responded with a ‘Hmm’.

“At the end of the prosecution's case, I found Saidi to be a credible witness and accepted his version. In any event, I have found that Rizal’s and Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah’s, who is Saidi’s business partner, testimonies have amply supported Saidi's version,” Mohamed Zaini said.

The judge said it has also been proven that Saidi brought the two knapsacks to Rosmah's (above) Langgak Duta residence and took them into the living room.

“Rizal, Saidi, Rayyan Radzwill and driver Shamsul Rizal Sharbini's testimonies restated this fact. I am of the view that the accused's defence is a bare denial.

“Her denial is devoid of any merits in light of the compelling testimonies of Rizal, Saidi, Rayyan, and Shamsul.

“It immaterial whether the knapsacks were handed over to her physically. That the knapsacks were left in the living room signifies delivery. That she instructed her butlers to bring the knapsacks upstairs to her room signifies acceptance,” he said.

Mohamed Zaini said he was resolute that the accused had failed to rebut the presumption on a balance of probabilities, and that the prosecution has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt in respect of the receiving of RM1.5 million.

Rosmah denied receiving bribes

The judge said the accused denied receiving RM5 million at Seri Perdana and she claimed to have been at her Langgak Duta residence.

“She also reiterated that Rizal pocketed the RM5 million for himself and that the trip to Seri Perdana was a charade.

“It was no coincidence that the RM5 million was paid after the letter of award dated Nov 10, 2016, had been issued to Jepak.

“Saidi had taken out a loan of RM16 million for Jepak and used RM5 million to make the payment. This was, of course, after Rizal reminded him of his promise to pay the accused,” he said.

Mohamed Zaini said the RM5 million had been withdrawn, brought to the Pavilion and refused to be accepted by businessperson Lawrence Tee Kien Moon, which had been established during the prosecution's case.

The judge said the accused denied Rizal called her when he was with Lawrence and that she had told him to send the cash to Seri Perdana.

“I find her denial untenable, as it defies belief that Rizal would have gone through the trouble of firstly going over to Lawrence to deliver the cash. He could have easily planned to take the cash through some other means.

“That he went to see Lawrence to deliver the RM5 million tallies with the facts in the solicitation charge, namely that Lawrence was entrusted with drawing up the consultancy agreement to facilitate the payments to be made by Saidi,” he said.

Judge Mohamed Zaini further said Rizal could not have speculated that Lawrence would refuse to accept the cash as he would have otherwise not bothered to instruct Saidi to go to Lawrence's office with the cash.

“It made perfect sense for Rizal to call the accused as the whole scheme was the accused's own.

“Why would Rizal take the trouble to drive over to Seri Perdana if he wanted to pocket the cash for himself?

“He travelled there with businessman Ahmed Farriq Zainul Abidin, who was with him throughout the journey. It was never suggested that Ahmed was in cohorts with Rizal,” the judge said.

The judge said the court established that Ahmed Farriq was a disinterested witness and credible.

“Ahmed Farriq saw Rizal instructing the accused's butlers to carry the bags into Seri Perdana. I also accepted Rizal's explanation of why he got the UTK officer to alight his vehicle before arriving at Seri Perdana,” he said.

Rizal couldn’t have boldly schemed by himself

The judge pointed out that the accused had, in her witness statement, merely denied being at Seri Perdana and claimed she was all over Kuala Lumpur that day.

“It is a fact that Seri Perdana was her official residence. There would be no reason for Rizal to deliver the bags with RM5 million cash there if not for the fact that they were meant for the accused,” said the judge.

He also found it difficult to accept that Rizal solicited for himself 15 percent of RM187.5 million as it was a staggering figure as he was merely an employee in the Prime Minister's Office.

“It would be preposterous to accept that Rizal had drawn up this scheme for his benefit, as he would surely be found out. I doubt Rizal would take a risk of such magnitude. I am of the view that he was only able to solicit as he was instructed by the accused.

“I find the accused's denial untenable. To suggest that Rizal would boldly arrange such a scheme without the accused's knowledge is quite far-fetched.

“For instance, why would Rizal take the trouble to bring Saidi and Rayyan to meet the accused at her residence if he had wielded so much power?” he said.

The judge found it incredulous to suggest that Rizal arranged for the duo to be at the accused's residence without her knowledge as it was her private residence.

“It is difficult to accept that Rizal had taken a chance for her to be home and then brought over Saidi and Rayyan without an agenda.

“It is more likely than not that Rizal informed the accused and made prior arrangements for the duo to meet the accused,” he added.

- Bernama

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