Najib gets house arrest - but there's an expensive RM50m caveat

Datuk Seri Najib Razak's conditional house arrest order has sparked discussions about its legal foundation, enforcement, and potential for application by other inmates. Prominent criminal lawyer Datuk S. Sivananthan provides insight into the implications. According to Section 3 of the Prisons Act 1995, the minister has the authority to designate a house, building, enclosure or portion thereof as a prison through Gazette notification.

This could potentially allow Najib's residence to serve as the location for serving his sentence. House arrest entails confinement to the individual's home. The conditions for house arrest are determined by prison authorities, which may include deployment of prison officers, electronic monitoring, visitor restrictions, and other imposed restrictions.

This decision sets a significant precedent as, to Sivananthan's knowledge, a Pardons Board in Malaysia has never previously granted a prisoner the opportunity to serve the remainder of their sentence under house arrest. Consequently, any other individual may now seek to apply for similar arrangements. However, future applications would still be subject to the discretion exercised in the pardons process.

Sivananthan suggests that this decision could encourage prisoners, especially those convicted of white-collar offenses, to pursue comparable treatment. This development may prompt inquiries from white-collar crime convicts about the possibility of requesting similar arrangements. Importantly, the order pertains to Najib's SRC International sentence and does not automatically suspend his separate sentence in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case.

Najib was convicted by the High Court on December 26 last year of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving approximately RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds. His 15-year sentence was scheduled to commence after completing his SRC International sentence. Najib has appealed both his conviction and sentence.

While awaiting the appeal outcome, Najib's legal team would need to seek a stay of his 1MDB sentence if necessary. If a stay is granted, Najib would not be imprisoned under that sentence during the appeal process. The terms of Najib's house arrest order include a conditional pardon enabling him to serve the remainder of his SRC International sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028.

This arrangement is contingent upon the payment of a RM50 million fine and adherence to specified conditions. The security and monitoring arrangements will depend on the conditions imposed by the authorities.