KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's trial over the misappropriation of RM2.28 billion of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds could not go on today, as he is on a two-day sick leave for diarrhoea.
This afternoon, Dr Mohd Hafiz Mohd Hoshni, who is a medical officer at the Kajang prison's clinic, informed the High Court that Najib this morning said he had been having diarrhoea since last night.
Najib’s 1MDB trial before Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah was initially scheduled to continue today, as well as tomorrow and Thursday.
But as Najib is on sick leave, the 1MDB case will only be able to resume in court on Thursday.
In this trial, Najib is facing 25 charges in relation to 1MDB's RM2.28 billion which were alleged to have entered his private bank accounts.
Najib, who will be turning 70 later this year and is currently serving his 12-year jail term at Kajang prison, was not seen in the courtroom today.
Before calling Dr Mohd Hafiz to testify regarding Najib's health condition, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib informed the court that Najib as the accused person was not available to attend trial today.
Dr Mohd Hafiz said he was informed at 7.15am this morning by an assistant medical officer that Najib was unwell and had been having stomach pain and diarrhoea since last night, and that he then carried out a medical examination on Najib at 7.30am.
According to the doctor, Najib said he has stomachache, nausea and had gone to the toilet about four times since last night, adding that the patient had continued to complain of having stomach pain and diarrhoea this morning.
Dr Mohd Hafiz said he had given charcoal to Najib as treatment but the latter said his situation was still the same after 10 minutes, later adding that he had found Najib to have slight dehydration as well as a fever of 37.8°C this morning.
Dr Mohd Hafiz said he wrote a referral letter this morning to refer Najib to a specialist doctor at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) to enable better treatment, and confirmed Najib was brought to that hospital at around 9.30am to 10am this morning, and that he appeared tired, fatigued and dehydrated when the doctor sent him over.
Asked by the prosecution's Akram if Najib is able to attend trial in court, Dr Mohd Hafiz said: "To me, he is not fit to attend trial as he has to be on drip. He is unable to stand or sit for too long."
Dr Mohd Hafiz confirmed that HKL had given a two-day sick leave for Najib, with the medical certificate signed by another specialist doctor at HKL named Dr Mohd Fadhli Zil Ikram Karim.
Asked by Najib's lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Dr Mohd Hafiz agreed that he would not be able to give a medical opinion on whether Najib would be able to attend trial in court on the subsequent days after today and tomorrow, as that would be within HKL's jurisdiction.
Doctors should specify if patient unfit to attend court
Both Dr Mohd Hafiz's referral letter and the two-day medical certificate from HKL were presented to the High Court today.
Both these two documents however did not carry the important phrase to state that Najib was not fit to attend court proceedings, with the medical certificate from HKL only having a general phrase that he was not healthy to be able to carry out his duties for today and tomorrow.
Shafee suggested that most doctors might not have been briefed on the protocol and the need to include the phrase of being unfit to attend court in medical certificates, and that the medical certificate is based on a long-standing format which has not been changed.
The judge said that even the specialist doctor at HKL who issued the two-day sick leave to Najib should have been called to testify in the current situation, but that it would be an "utter waste of everyone's time" to do so.
The judge said the reason why Dr Mohd Hafiz was called was due to the lack of the phrase that the patient was unfit to attend court, and suggested that doctors who issue medical certificates in the future for individuals who need to be in court "ought to state with clarity and with precision" that the patient could not attend court.
"We are not medical men, we look at this medical report, we don't know what to make of it, apart from a few things like hypertension, but the rest of it is quite technical. If you have that important phrase 'unfit to attend court', that would save everyone's time. That's all we ask for," he said, referring to the referral letter.
Shafee said he will write to the HKL doctor to check on whether Najib will be able to attend court on Thursday.
Following the explanation given by the doctor from Kajang prison, the judge vacated the 1MDB trial dates today and tomorrow. He also said: "So we will meet on Thursday in hopeful and confident expectation that the accused will be ready and well."
Following the explanation given by the doctor from Kajang prison, the judge vacated the 1MDB trial dates today and tomorrow. He also said: "So we will meet on Thursday in hopeful and confident expectation that the accused will be ready and well."
Shafee then said: "I can very confidently tell the court that the accused looks forward to coming to court because this is the time he sees his family, it's against his interest to be in this situation."
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