PUTRAJAYA (March 27): The Court of Appeal (COA) has granted Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor the right to include the police and the government as third parties in the US$14.57 million (RM68.30 million) lawsuit filed against her by a Lebanese jewellery firm over 43 pieces of "missing" jewellery.

The COA's decision overturns a previous ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on May 29 last year, which had dismissed Rosmah's application. The appeal was unanimously decided by a three-member bench led by judge Datuk P Ravinthran.

Judge Datuk Dr Choo Kah Sing, in delivering the COA's decision, said Rosmah's counsel, Rajivan Nambiar, successfully demonstrated a prima facie case for the third-party notice against the police and government, as outlined under Section 413 (5) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) concerning police's procedure for seizing property.

"If there is a breach of the statutory duty (regarding the seizure of the jewellery and other items) under the custody and care of the police, then the appellant could seek indemnity relief. The bench allows the appellant's (Rosmah's) appeal and sets aside the May 29th order. The bench makes no order as to costs," Choo said.

Also on the bench was judge Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril.

On May 29, High Court judge Ong Chee Kwan rejected Rosmah's application to include the police and government in the suit, ruling that they were not entities that had been found to have committed any wrongdoing in the case and were not responsible for contributing to any liability Rosmah has to bear.

The judge further stated that Rosmah was free to initiate a separate civil suit for any alleged losses suffered due to the authorities' actions related to the jewellery.

When arguing his client's case, Rajivan told the court that the Lebanese firm had initially claimed 44 pieces of jewellery from his client, and that one of those 44 pieces was found to be in the possession of the police and subsequently returned to the firm — Global Royalty SAL Ltd.

This was discovered after the police raid and seizure on May 17, 2018 at the Pavilion condominium, during which 12,009 valuable items belonging to Rosmah were seized.

"How do we know there were only 12,009 items, as there was no search list provided by the police to our client? Furthermore, the discovery of a single piece of jewellery with the police, which was returned to the respondent (plaintiff Global Royalty SAL), raises questions (about whether there could be more)," he said.

Citing Section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which deals with procedures to be observed by the police on property seizure, he argued that it is the police's responsibility to ensure that seized properties are kept in a safe and proper place, demonstrating that the police and government have a duty of care to ensure the valuables' safety.

"Furthermore, there was no search list provided by the police to my client, so how is she to know if there could be items beyond the 12,009 items seized by the authorities?" he added, arguing that Rosmah's appeal should be allowed.

Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, representing the government and police, countered that all seized items had been returned to Rosmah, who had acknowledged receipt on two separate occasions, as affirmed by police investigating officer ACP Foo Wei Min.

"The High Court judge was right in finding there was no connection between the defendant (Rosmah) and the proposed third party. Following this, the appeal should be dismissed," Shamsul said in response.

Lawyer Venothoni Raja Gopal represented Global Royalty SAL in the lawsuit, which the firm refiled against Rosmah in April 2023. It claimed the 43 pieces of jewellery had gone missing while in the possession of the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, alleging a breach of contract for the jewellery that were handed to her in February 2018.

The firm previously filed the suit against Rosmah in June 2018, but withdrew it in October 2019 following the government's forfeiture of the valuable items and cash it seized from both the Pavilion condominium and Rosmah's residence at Jalan Langgak Duta.

Claiming to have A-list clients like Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie, the firm is seeking the return of the 43 pieces of jewellery or their equivalent in monetary value under its suit.

In her defence, Rosmah argued that if any of the pieces of jewellery was lost, the police or the Malaysian government should be held responsible.

She also claimed that the jewellery were in the authorities' possession at all relevant times, and is seeking compensation and/or contribution from the police and government for the reliefs sought by the jeweller.

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