KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 30): There is ultimately no motive for the prosecution witnesses in the 1MDB-Tanore trial to frame Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was at the time wielding enormous powers as prime minister and finance minister, said the High Court judge who ordered Najib to enter his defence against the abuse of power and money laundering charges he faces in the case.
"The thrust of the defence's submissions in respect of the credibility of certain prosecution witnesses is premised inter alia, upon the accused being an unwitting victim and scapegoat of the scheme formulated by these witnesses to defraud 1MDB behind the back of the accused and because of their self-serving and vested interests, are unworthy of belief," said trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, who is now an appellate court judge.
These included two witnesses who admitted to receiving monies and gifts from Jho Low, Amhari Efendi and Jasmine Loo, he noted, and former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, who was alleged to have had an ulterior motive to serve as her family members were also implicated.
Another witness mentioned was Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, 1MDB's former chief executive officer whom the judge noted only received a salary and bonuses for his position in the company.
"Despite the allegations levelled against them, these witnesses were not accomplices and were candid about their acceptance of certain favours and gifts. In this regard, there is no legal presumption that an interested witness should not be believed.
"I find the testimonies of these witnesses in relation to the role of the accused with regard to the charges proffered were consistent and it further constituted a common thread of evidence which was not coincidental with regard to the involvement of the accused and his relationship with Jho Low and other persons who were not called.
"In the overall scheme of things, this court also finds that there ultimately would be no motive for these witnesses to testify and to frame up the accused who was at the time wielding enormous powers as the prime minister and finance minister," said Sequerah.
He said Najib stood at the apex of the decision-making process at 1MDB, so "it would be tantamount to suicide for these witnesses to deliberately give evidence against the accused given the latter’s position at the time".
"It is important to bear in mind that at the end of the day, these witnesses were not the ones on trial and notwithstanding the allegations against them, I find that their evidence in respect of the main facts in issue in the trial are capable of belief."
"Therefore, upon a perusal and analysis of the evidence and based upon the demeanour of these witnesses, this court finds that despite the accusations levelled, the credibility of these witnesses remains intact with regard to the main facts in issue in this case," said Sequerah, adding the same is true for the other prosecution witnesses that were brought forward in the case.
The High Court on Wednesday ordered Najib to enter his defence against all four abuse of power and 21 money-laundering charges for allegedly receiving gratifications worth RM2.27 billion that were siphoned from 1MDB.
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