Rosmah Apologises For No Show At Court Of Appeal Last Week

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Rosmah Mansor, via her legal team today, has apologised to the Court of Appeal over her non-attendance last week for an appeal hearing linked to a corruption case.
Her defence counsel Jagjit Singh (above, right) relayed the apology to the three-person Court of Appeal bench chaired by Hanipah Farikullah.
On Dec 2, Rosmah was absent from the appeal hearing over her bid to nullify her corruption case involving the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid energy project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
This was as she was still in Singapore to give support to her daughter Nooryana Najwa Najib who gave birth.
The prosecution at the time wanted the court to issue an arrest warrant against Rosmah for not attending the appeal.
However, the court declined the request following her defence team explaining that an “oversight” led to her absence. The bench also directed Rosmah to be present for the following proceedings.
During today’s hearing, Jagjit delivered the apology on behalf of Rosmah, who was seen in the dock.
“(We) express profound apology to My Lady and My Lords for the absence of the appellant last week.
“She expresses her sincerest apology,” he said as Rosmah looked on.
Besides Hanipah, the other members of the bench include M Gunalan and Hashim Hamzah.
Rosmah's appeal dismissed 
After the apology, proceedings resumed whereby the Court of Appeal unanimously allowed the prosecution’s preliminary objection to dismiss Rosmah’s appeal.
The wife of former premier Najib Abdul Razak was appealing against the decision of the Kuala Lumpur Criminal High Court on Sept 24, which dismissed her application to nullify her corruption trial being heard there.


She sought the nullification over the alleged invalidity of former federal court judge Gopal Sri Ram’s letter of appointment for him to prosecute her case. Sri Ram is the lead DPP in her corruption trial.
On Feb 18, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur ordered Rosmah to enter her defence, following the prosecution successfully establishing a prima facie case against her in the solar project corruption case.
Lawyers Akberdin Abdul Kader and Jagjit appeared for Rosmah in today's open-court proceedings at the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya. The prosecution was represented by Sri Ram.


The criminal trial of Rosmah’s case at the Kuala Lumpur High Court before judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan will resume on Wednesday.
For the solar graft trial, Rosmah is facing three charges under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009.
On the first charge, she is accused of soliciting RM187.5 million in bribes from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd to help secure an Education Ministry project.
The RM1.25 billion project was intended to supply power to 369 rural schools in Sarawak using a combination of solar and diesel energy.
On the second and third charges, she is accused of receiving RM1.5 million and RM5 million in bribes respectively as a reward for securing the project. - Mkini

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