KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor today visited the court complex here to attend her husband Datuk Seri Najib Razak's trial over the alleged tampering of the auditor-general's audit report on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Fresh from being convicted yesterday in her own corruption case, Rosmah was sighted briefly in the courtroom during Najib's trial before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan. Zaini was the same judge who had sentenced her to 10 years' imprisonment and a RM970 million fine.
Najib's convoy from the prison arrived at the court complex at around 8.30am and he was seen entering the courtroom from the holding room at 9.46am, dressed in a black pinstripe suit and sporting a tie that appeared to be magenta in colour.
Dressed in a white baju kurung with floral patterns, Rosmah walked into the courtroom at about 9.48am which was just before the trial started, but left a few minutes later.
Later at 10.11am while court proceedings were ongoing, Rosmah reentered the courtroom, and then left the courtroom about 10 minutes later.
Just before she walked out of the courtroom, she was seen waving to Najib who was sitting in the accused's dock, while Najib also turned towards her and waved back.
This is Rosmah's third visit to the court to attend Najib's criminal trials or to visit him since he was jailed 11 days ago to serve his 12-year jail sentence over the misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd's funds. This is also the third time Najib was brought out of prison to attend his trials.
Unlike Najib, who was sent to prison after failing to overturn his conviction in the SRC case at the High Court and subsequently both his appeals at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court, Rosmah is at a different stage of her case.
Rosmah remains out on bail as she had yesterday obtained a stay of her jail sentence while she pursues her appeal at the Court of Appeal.
At about 10.23am today, Najib's daughter Nooryana Najwa was also spotted entering the courtroom as the trial was going on, and she stayed until the end of court proceedings.
Nooryana also brought along her son Adam Razak to the court complex today, and posted an Instagram post with photos of the child to say that they had waited for Najib's arrival in court this morning.
At different points during the trial, former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy — who is also an accused person in this trial — was at times seen talking to Najib while they were both seated in the dock.
In this trial, Najib is accused of having, as then prime minister and finance minister, abused his position between February 22, 2016 and February 26, 2016 to receive self-gratification in the form of protection from civil or criminal action over his role in the handling of 1MDB operations.
Najib was accused of having abused his power by allegedly instructing for amendments to the auditor-general’s report on 1MDB—- which was already finalised and ready to be presented to the parliamentary watchdog Public Accounts Committee (PAC) — before it was finally presented to the PAC.
While Arul Kanda was charged with abetting in committing the offence, he had also previously testified as the 15th prosecution witness in this trial.
Arul Kanda now remains an accused person until the end of the prosecution case, when Zaini will decide whether he had been truthful and whether he should remain an accused person in this trial.
Today, MACC senior enforcement officer Haniff Lami testified as the 16th and final prosecution witness in the case.
Haniff completed his testimony today after being cross-examined by Arul Kanda's lead defence lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan and Najib's lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, and after being re-examined by lead prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram and by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib.
This trial will resume on September 7 where Najib's former principal private secretary Tan Sri Shukry Salleh who had previously testified as the 11th prosecution witness, is set to be cross-examined by Sivananthan and re-examined by the prosecution, before the prosecution can wrap up the calling of prosecution witnesses.
The next time that Najib is due to be brought to the court complex here for his criminal trials is next Monday (September 5), which is when his 1MDB trial before High Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah is set to resume.
