Najib's Hearing Has Been Delayed After A Dog Fractured His Lawyer's Wrist
His hearing has been pushed to this Friday, 15 March.
By Jia Vern Tham — 12 Mar 2019, 05:21 PM
A Court of Appeal hearing for Datuk Seri Najib Razak's charges involving SRC International Sdn Bhd, which was scheduled for today, 12 March, has been delayed to Friday
Malaysiakini reported that Najib's pre-trial proceedings will now be heard on Friday, 15 March.
The hearing has been pushed to Friday due to a wrist fracture suffered by Najib's lawyer, Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah
According to Malay Mail, Shafee asked to be excused from the hearing today as he recently broke his wrist while playing with his pet dog.
"My pet dog jumped on me. I am now in pain and I need to seek immediate medical attention later through an X-ray scan," Shafee was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
He added that it was the first time he had suffered a broken bone.
Shafee appeared at the Shah Alam High Court earlier today, 12 March, for another case despite his broken wrist.
Image via The Malaysian InsightDespite his claim, The Malaysian Insight reported that Shafee appeared at the Shah Alam High Court earlier today to represent the wife of Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan, who was charged for murdering her husband.
He reportedly arrived late at the Court of Appeal for Najib's hearing, where he asked to be excused for his injury.
Attorney-General Tommy Thomas told judges that while he sympathised with Shafee's pain, the prosecution did not prefer delaying Najib's hearing
"The whole country, everybody, wants the trial to start tomorrow if possible. There is enormous pressure on the prosecution team, in fact, there is global pressure on us for the trial to start," Tommy was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini in court.
Judges Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof, Datuk Lau Bee Lan, and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang later agreed to set 8.30am on Friday for Najib's final appeal hearing.
Najib was slapped with seven charges relating to the funds of SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former 1MDB subsidiary
The former premier has filed four appeals for his seven charges:
- Application for a gag order to prohibit the media from discussing the merits of his cases,
- Application for wider access to the prosecution's documents and statements,
- Application for removal of Sulaiman Abdullah as lead prosecutor, and
- The manner in which his case was transferred to the High Court.