Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Razak denied adjournment of hearings

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's attempt to overturn his corruption conviction dealt with an early blow after the country's Court of Appeal refused his request for a one-month adjournment of the hearings, which started on Monday. Judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil said there was insufficient grounds to postpone the hearings after Najib's defence team sought several bank statements and communications records from the prosecution, reports dpa news agency.

Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail on July 28, 2020, at the end of the first of five trials related to large-scale graft during his nine years as premier, which ended in a shock defeat in the 2018 elections fought in part over the scandals.

He was found guilty of money laundering, abuse of office and breach of trust after almost 10 million dollars were allegedly stolen from SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB, a state fund set up in 2009.

Twelve days of hearings are scheduled for this month, with Najib submitting 307 grounds for appeal of the sentence, which included a fine of 210 million ringgit ($50 million).

His lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told media at the court on Monday that the judge who found Najib guilty was not experienced enough. "One would expect a senior judge, with experience in criminal matters, to be sent," he said.

Up to $4.5 billion could have been looted from 1MDB, according to the US Department of Justice, which has repatriated hundreds of millions of dollars to Malaysia after recovering assets, including Picasso artwork and a luxury yacht, it said were purchased with money stolen from the fund. (IANS)

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