Najib S 1mdb Audit Tampering Trial Postponed After Another Covid 19 Concern

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Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's 1MDB audit report tampering trial has been postponed to tomorrow after lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said a member of his team had undergone a Covid-19 test
Shafee (photo) said lawyer Rahmat Hazlan had been "under the weather" and sought a Covid-19 test as a precaution

"This morning, at 4 to 5am, I received a message that he is unable to turn up today
"He has a high fever and was coughing. I immediately texted him and arranged for a doctor to see him in the morning and for him to be tested for the ailment," Shafee told the Kuala Lumpur High Court
Shafee said the test results will only be known within 24 hours
"By 10am tomorrow, we should know the results," he said
Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohamad Zaini Mazlan then asked if Shafee was requesting for the trial to be postponed until tomorrow pending Rahmat's test, to which he responded in the positive
Najib's separate RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial also previously saw a postponement after a Covid-19 scare
This was after his defence team received secondary exposure of a Covid-19 patient and had gone into self-quarantine as a precaution
During the previous trial on Jan 16, prosecution witness, retired National Audit Department (NAD) officer Sadaatul Nafisah Bashir Ahmad testified that 1MDB former chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy kept promising to provide all information to the department for auditing, but kept it waiting for months.Seven prosecution witnesses have testified so far, including former auditor-general Ambrin Buang and former chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa
Najib is charged with using his position to order amendments to the 1MDB final audit report before it was presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to prevent any action taken against him
Arul Kanda is charged with abetting Najib to make the amendments to the report
The duo’s charges are framed under Section 23 (1) of the MACC Act 2009, which specifies imprisonment up to 20 years, and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted. - Mkini

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