KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — The trial of Datuk Seri Najib Razak relating to the embezzlement of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds has been postponed and will resume this Thursday after the former prime minister was reported to be suffering from severe diarrhoea and had to be referred to specialists at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Appeal Court Judge, appearing as High Court Judge, Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah made the decision after the Kajang Prison health clinic medical officer Dr Mohd Hafiz Mohd Hoshni provided an explanation on Najib’s health condition at today’s proceedings.
Dr Mohd Hafiz, who was questioned by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib, said he was informed by the assistant medical officer at 7.15am today that Najib had complained about being unwell and was suffering from diarrhoea.
“When I met Najib, he complained of stomach pain and nausea in addition to having diarrhoea. Even after being given medication, his condition did not improve after 10 minutes and further checks found he was dehydrated and feverish, having a temperature of 37.8° Celsius.
“I then referred him to a specialist in Kuala Lumpur Hospital and he was taken there at 9.30am. At that time, he was tired and dehydrated,” he said.
The specialist then provided two-day medical leave to Najib and confirmed that he was unwell to attend the trial in court as he was not able to stand or sit for long periods and needed to be on a drip, he said.
When answering a question by Najib’s counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Dr Mohd Hafiz said Najib was found to have been having diarrhoea since yesterday and was referred to get better treatment.
Najib, 70, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes of RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
— Bernama
