Ag Will Be Transparent To Ensure Najib Gets Fair Trial Says Prosecutor

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Ad-hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram.KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution in Najib Razak’s corruption case today assured judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali that it will conduct its case in a transparent manner to ensure a fair trial
“The attorney-general (Tommy Thomas) has made this clear to the prosecution team, especially in handling relevant documents,” ad-hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram said
He made the remarks as the defence accused the prosecution of concealing the remainder of the Blackberry messenger chats former Ambank relationship manager Joanna Yu Ging Ping had with several people, including fugitive financier Low Taek Jho
In earlier proceedings, Nazlan had ruled that part of the chats were admissible and must be given to the defence to cross-examine Yu, the 54th prosecution witness
However, defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh today produced some e-mail communications Yu had with Low, better known as Jho Low, and several individuals related to 1MDB and SRC International Sdn Bhd CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil
Sithambaram said the prosecution never had sight of the e-mails and as such could not verify the authenticity of the document
It is required under law for the prosecution to deliver to the defence copies of documents and witness statements it will rely on to prove its case
The court could also order the prosecution to deliver additional documents to the defence in the course of the trial if it is relevant to the case
After the lunch break, the prosecution handed over the remainder of the (Blackberry messenger) chats to the defence to facilitate Harvinderjit to cross-examine Yu
Sithambaram said the remainder of the chats were not given to the defence as it was not relevant for the prosecution to prove its case against Najib
Harvinderjit and the rest of the defence lawyers then compared the documents provided by the prosecution with the e-mails in their possession and they appeared to be different
The lawyer then applied to Nazlan to adjourn the trial until Monday for the defence to comb through the document before continuing with their cross-examination
“The document (given by the prosecution) has taken a new direction and my cross-examination may be hampered,” he said
Najib is facing six charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust in the transfer of RM42 million to his account from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB
Najib is also accused of abusing his power as prime minister and finance minister by giving government guarantees on SRC International’s RM4 billion loan from Retirement Fund Inc
The Pekan MP is said to have committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd on Jalan Raja Chulan and at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya between Aug 17, 2011 and Feb 10, 2015. - FMT

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