KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – The High Court here today set Dec 7 to hear an application by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, who are facing six counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) of RM6,636,065,000 of government funds, to transfer their case, which is at the Sessions Court, to the High Court.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Izhanudin Alias informed reporters the date when met after management of the case, which was held in chambers before Deputy Registrar Nurliana Ismail, in a proceeding which was also attended by lawyers Rahmat Hazlan and Datuk K. Kumaraendran, representing Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar, respectively.
Mohd Izhanudin said the matter would be heard before Judicial Commissioner Datuk Rozana Ali Yusoff at 3.30 pm next Friday.
“The application by Najib to transfer the case was not objected by the lawyer representing Mohd Irwan Serigar because their cases would be heard jointly,” he said, adding there was also no objection from the prosecution.
Kumaraendran said he did not object to Najib’s application as there was no need for Mohd Irwan Serigar to file the same application as Najib and his client were charged together and they would be tried together.
Last Oct 25, Najib, 65, and Mohd Irwan Serigar, 61, pleaded nit guilty to all the charges.
On the first count, Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar were jointly charged with, in their capacity as Finance Minister and Treasury Secretary-General, respectively, and who were entrusted with the dominion of RM1.2 billion belonging to the Malaysian government, committed CBT of the fund.
For the second charge, Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar were jointly charged, while holding the same post, committed CBT of RM655 million belonging to the Malaysian government which were entrusted to them.
On the third count, they were jointly charged, in their capacity as public servants and holding the same post, committed CBT of RM220 million belonging to the Malaysian government in Federal Consolidated Fund under “Belanja Mengurus di bawah Maksud B11 Perkhidmatan Am Perbendaharaan, Aktiviti 021700 KL International Airport Berhad (KLIAB)” that were entrusted to them.
The two men were also jointly accused , while in the same capacity, with CBT of RM1.3 billion that were entrusted to them Federal Consolidated Fund under “Maksud B11 Perkhidmatan Am Perbendaharaan, Aktiviti 020500 Subsidi Dan Bantuan Tunai”, belonging to the Government of Malaysia.
On the fifth and sixth charge, they were jointly charged, while in same capacity, having committed CBT of CNY1, 950,000,000 (worth RM1,261,065,000) and RM2 billion, respectively, belonging to the government.
Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar were alleged to have committed all the offences at the Finance Ministry Complex in Putrajaya between Dec 21, 2016 and Dec 18, 2017.
They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code, which provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years and whipping, and liable to fine, if found guilty.
– BERNAMA
