Najib gets 30-day extension to file petition of appeal in SRC case
His lawyer says they need time to prepare the petition given the length of the court's grounds of judgment.
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Former prime minister Najib Razak has obtained a 30-day extension of time to file his petition of appeal in his SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
A three-man Court of Appeal panel comprising justices Has Zanah Mehat, Lee Swee Seng and Nordin Hassan allowed Najib’s application after receiving no objection from the prosecution.
Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee applied for an extension of Sept 18 to Oct 18, saying there are 112 volumes of appeal records and the High Court’s grounds of judgment was 801 pages long.
“In the interest of substantive justice, we do need time to adequately prepare the petition,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul told the court that the prosecution did not object to the application.
According to court procedure, the defence in Najib’s appeal has 10 days to file a petition of appeal after receiving the records of appeal. The initial due date to file the petition of appeal was Monday, Sept 28.
Najib is appealing against his conviction, 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine imposed by the High Court on July 28.
The former prime minister was found guilty of seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of position involving RM42 million in SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
He was sentenced to 12 years’ jail for the offence related to abuse of power and 10 years’ jail each for three criminal breach of trust offences.
The Pekan MP was also sentenced to 10 years’ jail for each of the three counts of money laundering. The High Court ordered that all sentences run concurrently.
Najib is currently out on RM2 million bail with two sureties pending his appeal.
The prosecution, meanwhile, filed a notice of appeal on Aug 11 against the sentence imposed on Najib by the High Court. However, it is learnt that the prosecution has yet to file its petition of appeal.
Najib’s appeal is fixed for case management on Oct 2.
The former prime minister was exempted from attending today’s court proceedings.
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