PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal was told today that the High Court Judge had erred in refusing to recuse himself from presiding over Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s corruption trial involving the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project in Sarawak.
Counsel for Rosmah, Datuk Jagjit Singh, submitted that the then High Court Judge, Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan (now elevated to the Court of Appeal), ought to have disqualified himself from hearing the case after he allegedly instructed the court’s Research Unit to prepare a draft judgment prior to the delivery of his decision.
“The judge erred in dismissing the recusal application on the basis that the 71-page document or the two purported judgments were merely opinions by the Research Unit.
“The Research Unit would not have prepared the draft opinions if instructions were not specifically given. The research unit would not venture on a frolic of its own without instructions and directions,“ he submitted before a three-member panel chaired by Justice Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, sitting with Justices Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.
Jagjit further submitted that the delegation of the preparation of a written judgment, whether in draft or final form, to the court’s Research Unit on behalf of the judge was improper, unacceptable and gravely prejudiced his client.
“Therefore, the appellant (Rosmah) did not get a fair trial when her constitutional rights and liberty had been violated, thus resulting in a serious miscarriage of justice,“ he said at the hearing of Rosmah’s appeal to recuse Judge Mohamed Zaini from presiding over her solar case.
On Sept 1, 2022, Rosmah Mansor, 73, failed in her bid to recuse Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan from presiding over her corruption trial, following allegations that a draft judgment in her case, purportedly prepared by a third party, had been leaked before its official delivery.
On the same day, Rosmah was convicted on three charges of corruption in connection with the RM1.25 billion hybrid solar project in Sarawak.
She was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of RM970 million, in default 30 years in prison.
However, she was granted a stay of execution on both the custodial sentence and the fine, pending the disposal of her appeal before the Court of Appeal.
Rosmah was charged with one count of soliciting RM187.5 million and two counts of receiving RM6.5 million in bribes from former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director, Saidi Abang Samsudin.
The hearing is scheduled to resume on June 25.
