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KUALA LUMPUR: Former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) CEO Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman will be able to read his witness statement in its entirety when he takes the stand next Monday (September 14) after the Supreme Court ruled that your evidence must be admitted in its entirety. .
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah issued his ruling after hearing more submissions from both parties here on Thursday (September 10).
In his ruling, the judge said it was premature to decide on the issue of the admissibility of Hazem’s evidence at this time and suspended the decision to determine whether the evidence was really hearsay until the end of the prosecution case.
On Monday (September 7), defense for former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is accused of misappropriating RM2.28bil from 1MDB funds, raised the issue of Hazem’s witness statement even though he still it has not been read in court, as it affirms some paragraphs. they were hearsay and, therefore, inadmissible.
The disputed paragraphs concerned the involvement of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or better known as Jho Low, and how Low allegedly told the witness that 1MDB was formed to channel funds to Umno when Najib was its president.
The defense asked the court to remove the disputed paragraphs from the witness’s statement, but the prosecution objected, insisting that the evidence should be read in its entirety, as it is “part of the transaction.”
Judge Sequerah said that if the tickets were excluded, the prosecution could be deprived of the opportunity to include their evidence in court.
“The prosecution can be biased if they can’t develop their narrative,” he said.
In the event that the evidence fell under the hearsay rules, Judge Sequerah opined that the evidence would be completely excluded from his findings.
Judge Sequerah also said that the defense has the ability to adapt its arguments in advance during the cross-examination of the witness.
During the height of the 1MDB scandal, not much was known about Hazem, who joined 1MDB as COO in August 2012.
He took over as CEO of Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi on March 25, 2013, before resigning in January 2015.
Hazem’s position was replaced by Arul Kanda Kandasamy.
Najib, 67, faces four counts of abusing his position to obtain gratification totaling RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds and 21 counts of money laundering involving the same money.
The hearing continues on Monday and Hazem will appear in court.
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