KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — The High Court today ruled that Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be tried for corruption over 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) on August 19, whether his ongoing SRC International trial is still continuing or has ended by then.
High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah rejected a June 21 application by public prosecutors to delay the 1MDB trial dates.
It was the third extension request from the prosecution who sought to start Najib’s main 1MDB trial only after the conclusion of the SRC International case.
Attorney General Tommy Thomas had earlier submitted the prosecution’s application for the court to consider adjourning the 1MDB trial, also known as the Tanore trial.
Thomas told Sequerah that the other High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali who is hearing Najib’s SRC International trial, has been informed that the SRC International trial might not be completed by August 15.
Thomas added that Justice Nazlan agreed to vacate further dates to accommodate the SRC International trial from September 3 until September 30.
On June 21, Thomas had informed the court that the prosecution still has 25 more witnesses to call before it could wrap up its case and said the accused cannot be at two courts at the same time.
Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah seconded Thomas’s application, saying that similar applications before the court was approved by Sequerah based on policy and to ensure that SRC International hearing concludes first before the Tanore case is heard.
However, Collin, who appeared to be upset with the third postponement application, told Shafee that such circumstances may not hold true in this instance.
“I am not willing to wait. If you have nothing to submit, I will make my decision.
“After hearing both parties and taking into account that this is the third application by the prosecution, this application is rejected.
“The hearing will commence this August 19, at 9am,” Collin ruled.
Najib is currently standing trial for seven money laundering and criminal breach of trust charges over RM42 million in SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
His SRC International trial, which continues today, was originally set to run until August 15.
Sequerah had previously set August 19 to 29; throughout September and October except for Fridays; and the first two weeks in November, for Najib’s 1MDB trial.
So far, 42 witnesses have taken the stand in Najib’s SRC International trial, with the 42nd prosecution witness being former SRC International director Datuk Suboh Md Yassin set to resume with his cross-examination today.
