October hearing for Rosmah’s solar energy project graft appeal
Published on: Tuesday, April 23, 2024
By: FMT
Rosmah Mansor is seeking to disqualify trial judge Zaini Mazlan from hearing the case, allegedly on grounds that certain ‘third parties’ had prepared a draft of the judgment for him.
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has fixed two days in October to hear Rosmah Mansor’s appeal against her conviction and sentence in the RM1.25 billion Sarawak rural schools’ solar energy project corruption case.
Lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader said court deputy registrar Noor Firdaus Rosli fixed Oct 23 and 24 during case management today.
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The lawyer said the bench would first hear Rosmah’s appeal to recuse trial judge Zaini Mazlan from hearing the case, allegedly on grounds that certain “third parties” had prepared a draft of the judgment for him.
“The substantive appeal will be heard if the recusal is disallowed,” he told FMT.
On July 7 last year, a three-member bench chaired by Justice Azizah Nawawi adjourned the appeals pending the outcome of another appeal before the Federal Court challenging the late Gopal Sri Ram’s appointment as ad hoc prosecutor for the case.
Rosmah’s two-year legal battle on the matter came to an end last month after a three-member Federal Court bench chaired by Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim said she had failed to meet the threshold required by law for leave to appeal the matter to the apex court.
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Lawyer Jagjit Singh appeared for Rosmah in today’s case management while deputy public prosecutor K Mangai appeared for the prosecution.
On Sept 1, 2022, Zaini dismissed a last-minute application by Rosmah to stop the judge from presiding over the case.
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Rosmah, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, had sought to disqualify Zaini after a purported draft of his judgment was published by blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin.
She claimed the draft judgment was not prepared by Zaini, but by third parties, and that the judge ought not to preside over the case since she had lost confidence in him.
Zaini dismissed the application.
On the same day, Zaini convicted her of soliciting RM187.5 million from former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin through her former aide, Rizal Mansor, as an inducement to help the company secure the solar project.
She was also convicted of receiving bribes amounting to RM5 million from Saidi, through Rizal, at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya on Dec 20, 2016, and another charge of receiving RM1.5 million from Saidi at Jalan Langgak Duta on Sept 7, 2017.
Zaini sentenced her to 10-year jail terms for each of the three charges but ordered them to run concurrently. He also ordered her to pay a fine of RM970 million.
The court said Rosmah would have to serve another 10 years in prison at the completion of her initial sentence if she failed to pay the fine.
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