KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor admitted to the High Court on Monday that she accepted 44 pieces of jewellery from Global Royalty Trading SAL Ltd to inspect and view them, in line with the company’s expectation that she might purchase them.
Testifying as the sole defence witness to Global Royalty Trading’s US$14.57 million (RM68.30 million) lawsuit against her, the 75-year-old wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said it was delivered to her with the aim and intention that she would wear or use the jewellery so that it would attract, garner and/or obtain publicity and/or credibility for the product.
“Thus, the 44 pieces of jewelleries were delivered to me for Samer Hassib Halimeh’s or the company’s own benefit, and as a form of promotion in relation to the jewelleries. I did not request them. The 44 pieces of jewelleries were delivered to me by Samer either on his or the company’s own accord and volition, and with no obligation for me to purchase the jewelleries,” she added.
Rosmah denied Samer’s allegations that she had been Samer’s long-standing customer of Global Royalty Trading or had made purchases from the company.
“I have never requested for Global Royalty to deliver jewelleries to me on a consignment basis, and neither have I placed any orders for jewelleries through its group of companies and got the company Blackrock Commodities to pay for jewelleries on my behalf.
“I have also not borrowed jewelleries from the company as alleged. Its allegations (that I used them) are nothing more than baseless, malicious, and wild allegations made against me,” Rosmah said.
Rosmah admitted, when asked by her lawyers, Reza Rahim and Ranjivan Nambiar of Messrs Reza Rahim and Ranjivan, that she was introduced to Samer by the Sultan of Brunei's second wife and knew him as a jeweller.
Samer, she added, even came to her daughter’s wedding uninvited and described the Lebanese as “pushy” and wanted to show her his goods.
“He never told me he represented Global Royalty Trading,” she said, adding that she received the consignment in February 2018, but she could not remember the exact date.”
No time to wear the jewellery
Rosmah said that she did not have an opportunity to wear the jewellery as it was close to the 2018 general election.
“I was busy assisting my husband in campaigning for the elections. I had no intention of using the jewelleries, and I only kept the jewelleries so as to not offend Samer, as he was introduced to me by the Sultan of Brunei’s second wife,” Rosmah said.
She added that the jewellery were safely placed in a bag by her butler and locked, and the bag containing the jewellery was safely kept and stored under lock and key at all times at Seri Perdana, the Prime Minister’s official residence in Putrajaya, with the intention of returning the jewellery to Samer.
After Barisan Nasional’s loss in the general election, she added that the family moved from Seri Perdana to their own residence in Jalan Langgak Duta in Kuala Lumpur.
However, she added that the valuable items were moved to the Pavilion Residence condominium in Kuala Lumpur, owned by a family friend (Tan Sri Bustari Yusuf) of OBYU Holdings Sdn Bhd.
Rosmah added that, subsequently, the police raided the Pavilion condominium and took the valuables, and that is why she is instituting a third-party action against the government, as, if the court found her liable for the losses, then part of the claim should fall on the police and government who acted to forfeit and seize those items.
The police and government had seized 12,009 pieces of jewellery in the raid, as well as cash. These items were subject to forfeiture proceedings, but the forfeiture application was dismissed by the court.
As a result, all the jewellery and valuables were returned to Najib and Rosmah, with the exception of one diamond bracelet which was identified and recognised as belonging to Global Royalty Trading and returned to the Lebanese jeweller.
Rosmah acknowledges received jewellery on consignment
When cross-examined by Global Royalty Trading’s counsels Datuk David Gurupatham and Venothani Raja Gopal, Rosmah agreed that she had received the jewellery sometime in February 2018.
At times having sharp exchanges with David, who asked whether it is common practice that she received millions in consignment of jewellery without any documents, Rosmah replied in the affirmative.
David: You received jewellery in this case worth about RM67 million… sent to you without documents all the time? Please answer my question.
Rosmah: Excuse me, I am calculating it in my head… do not harass me. Please be patient… give me time to calculate. You asked me if I received this (sort of consignment worth millions) all the time without documents, right? Yes. This is just consignment, and I will look at it (the jewellery) to receive and view. I was the wife of the [then] PM of Malaysia, and the 44 pieces of jewellery were for inspection. At the material time in receiving the valuables from Global Royalty Trading, there were no documents.”
Rosmah admitted that the government had seized more than 12,000 pieces of jewellery, handbags and other valuables following the raid at the Pavilion Residences Kuala Lumpur.
Rosmah admitted to signing the memorandum from Global Royalty Trading SAL sometime in May 2018, but said she had signed it under duress and could not remember if Samer or her worker was present to make her sign.
“I signed the document as at the same time, there was a police raid on the house, and we had police moving in and out of the house and I was confused.”
The house she was referring to was their private residence in Jalan Langgak Duta, Kuala Lumpur.
While maintaining that the 43 jewellery claimed by Global Royalty SAL that included diamond necklaces, rings, bracelets and tiara which were sent to her were no longer in her possession following the police raid, Rosmah said she did not inspect nor was she given any search warrant, or a copy of the search list by the police during the raid.
Govt questioned different versions on who gave directive to pack valuables
Senior federal counsel (SFC) Liew Horng Bin, who is representing the government which had been brought in as a third-party in the suit, quizzed Rosmah’s claim that she had never directed her workers to put the valuables in the bags and orange boxes.
Liew, however, showed the cautioned statement of her driver by the name of Manivanam and her bodyguard, that alleged that they had received directions from Rosmah to move the valuables that were packed in 22 luggage bags and several orange boxes. The wife of the former prime minister claimed they were lying.
The SFC also claimed that the two — Manivanam and the bodyguard — had claimed that the jewellery were transported from the Jalan Langgak Duta home to the Pavilion, and not from Seri Perdana, the PM’s official residence to Pavilion, to which Rosmah disagreed.
Ranjivan and Reza objected to such questions, saying that the government should not ask their client questions based on hearsay. Judge Quay dismissed the notion.
Liew: Your bodyguard had claimed that there were several army men and two Filipino maids helping to carry the bags and valuables. Do you agree with me that your denial of transfer of the items that were seized were on your instructions, and this contradicts what your bodyguard and driver are telling you?
Rosmah: That is not true and they are telling lies.
Liew: Your earlier averment is that the items were transported from a safe in Seri Perdana to Pavilion, and this was also contradicted by your own driver and bodyguard, as it was not from Putrajaya but from Langgak Duta to Pavilion?
Rosmah: Not true.
Liew: Based on the two witnesses (driver and bodyguard), the seized items were in fact stored in Jalan Langgak Duta.
Rosmah: Not true
Liew: There was no reason for you to move the jewellery to the Pavilion unit owned by Bustari, as they occupied a small portion of the room unit that was under renovation?
Rosmah: I disagree.
Liew: The reason for the move towards Pavilion was to evade detection?
Rosmah: Not true.
Earlier, Rosmah had denied that she had instructed workers and staff to pack the jewellery in the bags and orange boxes, claiming that they were packed from Seri Perdana and not Jalan Langgak Duta.
Rosmah agreed with Liew that she did not lodge a police report with regards to the purported 43 pieces of missing jewellery being claimed by Global Royalty Trading.
She also agreed that she held the keys to the locks of the 22 bags in which the valuables had been placed.
The plaintiff and defence closed their case on Monday, and the trial will resume tomorrow before Quay, with five senior police officers for the government expected to give their testimony.
Rosmah had brought third-party proceedings against the government, claiming that if she is held liable for the losses, then the government should also pay.
Earlier, Samer had testified that Rosmah is liable for the losses.