Rosmah suffers dizzy spell, court adjourns appeal hearing

Summary

• The Court of Appeal adjourns Rosmah Mansor’s appeal hearing to recuse a judge who convicted her over the solar corruption case.

• She has to leave the Palace of Justice to seek hospital treatment due to a dizzy spell caused by her diabetes and high blood pressure.

Rosmah Mansor was forced to leave the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya this morning to seek medical treatment at a hospital as she suffered a dizzy spell related to diabetes and high blood pressure.

The legal team for Najib Abdul Razak’s wife informed the Court of Appeal of this while seeking a postponement for today's scheduled recusal appeal.

Rosmah is appealing to recuse Zaini Mazlan, the judge who found her guilty over three graft charges in her solar energy trial nearly three years ago.

He had also sentenced Rosmah to 10 years in jail and a record RM970 million fine, with an additional 30 years imprisonment if she fails to pay the penalty.

While the conviction and sentencing are the subject of her main pending appeal, she also has a separate appeal against Zaini's refusal to abide by her application for him to withdraw from her corruption case linked to a RM1.25 billion solar hybrid energy project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.

Adjournment allowed

During today's proceedings, the three-person appellate bench chairperson and judge Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim asked Rosmah's lawyers Akberdin Abdul Kader and Jagjit Singh where the appellant went as she was at the Palace of Justice earlier.

The legal team notified the bench that the 73-year-old had to leave for the hospital as she was feeling woozy from health complications.

On behalf of fellow member panel judges Azman Abdullah and Noorin Badaruddin, Zaidi allowed the adjournment appeal to a date to be set.

However, just before the proceedings ended, Zaidi asked the defence team what was the effect of the appeal to recuse Zaini when the trial judge had already delivered his ruling against Rosmah.

Zaidi pointed out that she has a separate appeal pending over her guilty verdict and sentencing.

Jagjit said the recusal appeal, if allowed, could lead to an appellate order for a retrial of Rosmah's entire solar graft case before a new trial judge.

The defence counsel said Rosmah's lawyers and the prosecution team had agreed for the appellate court to hear the recusal appeal first before the main solar case appeal.

Following a brief case management, the appellate bench set May 15 as a new hearing date for Rosmah's recusal appeal.

Deputy public prosecutor K Mangai prosecuted.

Leak of judgment claim

On Sept 1, 2022, before the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Zaini denied Rosmah's application for him to withdraw from the solar case and issued the guilty verdict as well as sentencing against her.

However, the sentence was stayed pending her appeal before the Court of Appeal. Zaini has since been elevated to the appellate court.

The grounds for Rosmah's recusal was over the purported leak of the judgment against her before Zaini delivered it in open-court proceedings.

She had cited an article by controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin on his blog Malaysia Today, which contained a link to download the alleged 71-page written judgment.

The link leads to a file containing two separate alleged judgments purportedly prepared by the High Court's research unit.

In dismissing Rosmah's recusal bid, Zaini ruled that he neither gave instructions to prepare the opinions nor were the documents prepared for him.

The judge pointed out that the two documents ultimately were opinions written by the court's research unit.

Millions involved

One charge accused Rosmah of soliciting RM187.5 million and two other counts accused her of receiving bribes of RM6.5 million from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd’s former managing director Saidi Abang Samsuddin, through her former special officer Rizal Mansor.

It was allegedly done as an inducement to help the company secure the Hybrid Photovoltaic Solar System Integrated Project and Maintenance and Operation of Genset/Diesel for 369 rural Sarawak schools.

The trial judge also allowed her to remain out of prison on an existing RM2 million bail.

In December last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted Rosmah a discharge and acquittal in a separate RM7 million money laundering and tax evasion case.

However, the prosecution has since appealed to the Court of Appeal to nullify the decision.

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