Najib Tried To Delay His Trial 2 Days Before It Begins
The SRC International Sdn Bhd trial is set to begin tomorrow, 3 April.
By Jia Vern Tham — 02 Apr 2019, 02:32 PM
Datuk Seri Najib Razak filed a judicial review application over his trial yesterday, 1 April – two days before it was scheduled to begin
The Malaysian Insight reported that Najib filed an application against the Federal Court's decision to lift the stay on his SRC International Sdn Bhd trial, which is scheduled to begin tomorrow, 3 April.
The case hearing is set to commence tomorrow after the Federal Court ruled on 27 March that the Court of Appeal had no jurisdiction to grant a stay on Najib's case when a decision in a criminal matter has been made, according to The Edge Markets.
The Federal Court has since fixed Thursday, 4 April, to hear Najib's review application
One of Najib's lawyers, Harvinderjit Singh revealed that the application was made during the mention of Najib's 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case at the High Court yesterday.
Free Malaysia Today reported that the lawyer was informed of the new hearing date by the Federal Court registry this morning, 2 April. The court will also hear Najib's three other appeals on:
- Request for additional documents to prepare his defence,
- A gag order to prevent the media and public from discussing his case, and
- A constitutionality challenge of transferring seven of his cases to the High Court.
More than 60 people will reportedly take the witness stand throughout Najib's trial
"The prosecution prepared more than 60 witnesses to take the stand in this trial," sources told Bernama.
If the trial goes on without delay, three witnesses, including government officers and bankers, will testify tomorrow.
"The first witness would be called to testify. We have on standby three witnesses, but it depends on how the trial goes on that day," the sources said.
"We have also prepared witness statements and after the witnesses read out their statements, the defence would cross-examine them," the sources added.
The trial for Najib's seven charges in relation to SRC International Sdn Bhd will be held before Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali
The prosecution team, led by Attorney-General Tommy Thomas, will consist deputy public prosecutors Datuk Sulaiman Abdullah, Datuk V. Sithambaran, Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria, Manoj Kurup, Budiman Lutfi Mohamed, and Muhammad Izzat Fauzan.
Meanwhile, Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah will lead the defence team, which includes lawyers Harvinderjit Singh, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, Rahmat Hazlan, and Syahirah Hanapiah.