Prosecution wins bid to amend charges against Najib, Arul Kanda in 1MDB audit report case

“Even if this amendment results in the goal post being shifted, it will still remain within the pitch,” said the judge.

(FMT) – The High Court here has allowed the prosecution in Najib Razak’s 1MDB audit report case to amend the charges against the former prime minister and former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy.

Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan granted the application on grounds that the amendment would not prejudice or cause injustice against either man.

“Even if this amendment results in the goal post being shifted, it will still remain within the pitch,” he said.

“The defence will still be able to take their shots. I am here to ensure that they will be given every opportunity to mount their defence.”

Adding that the trial is still at an early stage, he said so far only seven prosecution witnesses had taken the stand, and had yet to be fully cross-examined by defence lawyers Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and N Sivananthan.

In the amendment, the prosecution argued that Najib had caused amendments to the finalised report before it was tabled to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

After the amendment was granted, the charges were read again to Najib and Arul who affirmed their plea of not guilty.

Najib was accused of using his position to obtain immunity from legal action in relation to allegations that he tampered with the 1MDB audit report between Feb 22 and 26, 2016 while Arul was accused of abetting in the crime.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib told the court today that the prosecution’s case was made under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act, in which Najib was alleged to have used his position as prime minister to obtain immunity from legal action.

“We say that it was an act directed by the accused with criminal intent,” he added.

“In both of the audit reports we tendered, the contents clearly stated that they were final reports,” he said, referring to the two copies of the 1MDB audit reports published before and after the meeting of government officials on Feb 24, 2016.

Throughout the course of the trial, witnesses including former chief secretary Ali Hamsa, former auditor-general Ambrin Buang and former National Auditor Department official Saadatul Nafisah Ahmad Bashir said they had been called to attend a meeting as the prime minister was not satisfied with the contents of the draft report.

Lawyer Sivananthan said the question of whether the report was a final or draft copy, as well as whether some portions had been “unlawfully” removed should be left to the court to decide.

“The same goes for the allegation against Arul that he aided in the crime,” he said.

Shafee meanwhile said the amendment may prejudice the defence’s case.

“We put our case to Ali Hamsa during cross-examination and he said that in his opinion, the report was a draft copy.

“We submit that even with this proposed amendment, it (the charge) does not disclose an offence and should be struck out.”

He added that the defence was considering making an application to strike out the charge under Section 23 of the MACC Act.

The hearing will resume on July 27.