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SRC Trial: Najib's defence confirms Aussie handwriting expert no-go, court dismisses Najib's bid to compel witness into interview

Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrives at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex, February 24, 2020. ― Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrives at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex, February 24, 2020. ― Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 ― An Australian handwriting expert sought by Datuk Seri Najib Razak to to verify his signatures on several contentious documents tendered as evidence will not testify in his RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption trial, Najib's lawyer confirmed today.

Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah confirmed this when it was brought up for hearing at the High Court during trial earlier today.

Muhammad Shafee informed High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali that the reason was because the expert had not submitted any report or findings following the examination conducted on February 11 and 12.

Earlier, ad hoc prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram said prosecutors had received a letter dated February 21 from the defence this morning, informing them on the document examination status by Australian handwriting expert Steven Strach.

There are in total six disputed documents related to the SRC shareholders’ minutes and one on the instruction to transfer money to Ambank where Najib had private accounts.

During the trial, Najib had consistently raised questions on the authenticity of his signatures as he claimed that he was never shown the original copies of the disputed documents.

In January, the court allowed Najib to appoint and engage Strach to scrutinise several disputed photocopied documents and to determine if his signatures on those documents were forged.

In the aforementioned letter sighted by Malay Mail, Muhammad Shafee's law firm Shafee & Co stated that “an impasse has arisen relating to the terms of Dr Steven's appointment and as a result unable to proceed further with his appointment.”

“To date we have not been provided with any report or findings by Dr Steven from his examination conducted on the February 11 and 12 apart from his preliminary report.

“Having reviewed our legal position vis a vis the evidence led to date, the Prosecution's burden of proving the admissibility of documents and in light of the ruling of this court on February 21, we hereby reserve our right to address these issues during submission,” the letter reads.

High Court dismisses Najib's bid to compel 'unco-operative' witness into interview

Meanwhile, the High Court also today dismissed Najib's defence application for the court to compel a witness they subpoenaed to be interviewed before testifying.

Mohd Nazlan, in delivering his decision, said the witness may voluntarily agree to be interviewed by the defence but the accused cannot compel that witness to attend interview and answer the questions in that session, including by applying the Court to issue an order to such effect.

“The intended witness is neither a prosecution witness nor offered to the defence. The fact that he is a public officer and the former investigating officer for another case does not change this position.

“In any event the right of the accused to a fair trial is not compromised because he maintains the fundamental right to call the intended witness who is still subject to the subpoena and under a duty to testify truthfully if chosen to be called by the defence. This application is dismissed.

“So it's for the defence to decide whether or not to call the witness,” he said.

Last week, Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the High Court the seventh defence witness, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Assistant Commissioner Mohd Nasharudin Amir, had declined on February 15 to have his witness statement recorded by the defence.

Nasharudin is the seventh defence witness subpoenaed by Najib’s lawyers and not among the list of witnesses offered by the prosecution to the defence team.

He was formerly an investigating officer in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) probe.

Earlier today, Muhammad Shafee reiterated the importance and necessity of Mohd Nasharudin, stating that the defence has throughout the trial related many factual circumstances on the alleged RM2.6 billion in Najib's personal bank account.

Najib is on trial over seven charges related to SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Three are for criminal breach of trust over a total RM42 million of SRC International funds while entrusted with its control as the prime minister and finance minister then, three more are for laundering the RM42 million, and the last is for abusing the same positions for self-gratification of the same sum.

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