Rosmah welcomes nod to adduce fresh evidence in solar project appeal
KUALA LUMPUR: The Court of Appeal’s decision allowing Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor to adduce additional evidence in her appeal represents an important opportunity for the evidence to be scrutinised in open court.
The Court of Appeal in Kuala Lumpur has granted Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor permission to introduce fresh evidence in her appeal related to the RM1.25 billion Sarawak solar hybrid project corruption case. Rosmah's legal counsel, Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, expressed that this opportunity would allow the evidence to be thoroughly examined in open court.
Arshad revealed that Rosmah maintains the evidence was not adequately presented in the original trial court during the RM1.25 billion case. Following years of litigation, Arshad stated that Rosmah would now have the chance to challenge the matters through the judicial process.
The defense did not request acceptance of the new evidence without challenge. Instead, they sought for the evidence to be presented and rigorously tested via the proper adversarial process. The fresh evidence encompasses matters concerning Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah's account, including his statement of intimidation and discouragement from disclosing information during the investigation.
The defense emphasized that Rayyan's account was not entirely new, citing an earlier affidavit sworn by him in 2020, shortly after his trial testimony, which the defense claims provides crucial context to his present account.
The significance of the Court of Appeal's decision extends beyond merely admitting additional documents. It potentially impacts the integrity of the fact-finding process and the presentation of critical prosecution evidence before the trial court. Arshad expressed gratitude for the opportunity to examine these matters through the proper judicial process, emphasizing that the decision does not confirm the truth or acceptance of the fresh evidence. This will be determined only after the evidence is received and evaluated by the High Court.
In September 2022, the High Court convicted Rosmah of three corruption charges linked to the solar hybrid project for rural schools in Sarawak, sentencing her to 10 years in jail and a fine of RM970 million. She was accused of soliciting RM187.5 million from former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin, via her ex-aide Rizal Mansor, to assist the company secure the project.
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