PUTRAJAYA: Lawyers for Najib Razak are objecting to the prosecution’s appeal from his acquittal in the 1MDB audit report case.
Lawyers Shafee Abdullah, Farhan Shafee and Alaistair Brandah Norman claimed the appeal is deemed defective as the prosecution has failed to file a petition of appeal.
Under the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994, the prosecution is required to file the petition within 10 days of receipt of the appeal records from the High Court registry.
The petition must list why the High Court ought not to have acquitted Najib and co-accused Arul Kanda Kandasamy.
According to Najib’s lawyers, the matter has been fixed for further case management on Aug 30.
On March 3, the High Court freed the former prime minister from a charge of abuse of power without calling for his defence.
Arul Kanda, accused of abetting Najib, was also acquitted, after the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against either accused.
The court also issued a certificate of indemnity in Arul Kanda’s favour after Justice Zaini Mazlan (then a High Court judge) said he was satisfied that the former 1MDB CEO had been truthful and had given full discovery when testifying in the case.
The certificate confirms that no further civil or criminal proceedings can be brought against Arul Kanda in relation to the 1MDB audit report.
Najib was accused of abusing his power to obtain immunity from legal action and causing amendments to the finalised 1MDB audit report prior to its tabling before the Public Accounts Committee.
Source : FMT
