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KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution in Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial told the High Court today that the written testimony of the former CEO of the company, Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, was not hearsay.
Ad-hoc prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram said Hazem’s evidence falls under Section 32 (1) (b) of the Evidence Act and that the prosecution relied on the provision.
He added that the statement, made by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) to Hazem, was made in the normal course of business.
The provision established that statements, whether written or oral, about facts made by a deceased person or that cannot be presented in court, are considered relevant.
“The defense had accepted the facts that Jho Low, Jasmine and Terence cannot be found and charges were brought against them, in absentia.
“The investigating officer will testify later that there were attempts to search for them but could not find them,” Sri Ram said.
Low, former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan and CEO Terence Geh Choh Heng were indicted in absentia two years ago for criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
Sri Ram also cited a Federal Court ruling in 2011 where the supreme court said that the statutory provision in the Evidence Act is “to provide exceptions to the common law rule against receiving hearsay evidence.”
“If we cannot show that our case conforms to Section 32 (1) (b) of the Evidence Act, we will grant it. I give my word to a lawyer, ”he said, referring to Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
In response, Shafee said that the defense will present more information on Section 32 (1) (b) that was raised by Sri Ram on Thursday.
The defense had argued that Hazem’s written testimony contained hearsay and should not be allowed to be presented as evidence.
Shafee further said Hazem claimed that Low allegedly told him that 1MDB was created to help Umno in business through strategic investments.
The hearing continues before Superior Court Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Najib was slapped with 25 counts of abuse of power and money laundering for alleged 1MDB funds in the amount of RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
