KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — In an unprecedented development, the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the High Court will now be heard over the weekend from this month onwards.
Based on the court e-filing system, High Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah has fixed several trial dates for court proceedings to continue on Saturdays.
Based on existing dates that have been fixed, court proceedings will resume this month on April 22 and continue until April 27.
Sequerah had on past occasions warned that the criminal trial had been dragging on for too long and had indicated to parties for the trial to conclude.
The trial, which commenced in August 2019, is now in its sixth year with the prosecution yet to close its case.
The trial will continue on a total of six Saturdays until the end of June — April 27, May 4 and 25, and June 1, 8 and 15 — that has been fixed by Sequerah and agreed upon by both the defence and prosecution.
The 49th prosecution witness, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Nur Aida Arifin, is expected to resume her testimony after taking the stand previously.
In this trial, Najib faces four counts of abuse of power for using his position as the then prime minister, finance minister and chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers to receive gratifications worth RM2.27 billion. He also faces 21 money-laundering charges.
