KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 12): The 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial has been postponed yet again, as former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is still nursing an acute knee inflammation in a hospital.
Condition of the 71-year-old is improving, and the initial prescriptions of opioids have been tapered, Dr Siti Hawa Tahir, a senior orthopaedic consultant with Hospital Kuala Lumpur, told the court on Thursday. She issued Najib another two-day medical leave on top of the leave issued for Tuesday and Wednesday.
The prescription carries side effects of drowsiness, resulting in Najib not being at his full mental capacity, the doctor said, flagging that he had other health issues which could be exacerbated by the prescription, and he would need monitoring.
Najib also has sleep apnea issues, where he has breathing problems while asleep, which requires close medical monitoring, she said.
There was an entire team of experts, including a medical physician and anaesthetist, attending to the former Umno president, the doctor said, adding that a psychiatrist would have to assess Najib before he can attend court proceedings.
The trial, which is now at the submissions at the end of the prosecution stage, has been vacated for the week. Proceedings will resume on Sept 17.
The initial month-end cut-off date has now been pushed to Oct 4, due to the missed dates earlier this week. Presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah told parties on Tuesday that he had read and re-read the submissions, and the parties would not have to submit further beyond Oct 4.
He said that he will give a date to deliver his decision at the end of the prosecution's case, on whether Najib has to enter his defence or if he walks free.
Najib was charged in 2018, and the trial is in its sixth year now.
He 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 US$620 million (RM2.27 billion). He also faces 21 money-laundering charges.