Ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (Amlatfa) even allow the prosecution to tender copies of documents.
He said the Evidence Act, which runs contrary to the MACC Act and Amlatfa, does not apply to secondary documents or where the maker is not called to give evidence.
“The legal position is that the Evidence Act, which is a general law, should give way to the specific legislation under which the accused is charged,” he said in his submission at the close of the prosecution’s case.
He added that the documents should be admitted as evidence but that it is up to the court to determine how much weight should be given to them.
He was responding to the defence, which asked trial judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali to ignore some 70 documents as evidence as they are not original documents and its makers were not called to testify.
The prosecution had sought to prove its case by way of oral, circumstantial and documentary evidence. However, it has been unable to locate several witnesses despite attempts by the police and MACC.
Lawyer Harvinderjit Singh said Najib was not required to lodge a police report after discovering that RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd had been deposited into his private AmBank accounts without his knowledge.
He said Sarawak Report revealed on July 2, 2015 that investigations had begun on SRC International and the RM2.6 billion also found in Najib’s accounts.
“After the report was published, the matter become public. The MACC, police, Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) began investigating his accounts on July 6, 2015.
“By July, the investigating agencies were looking into this matter… so what was the need for a report?” he said.
He was replying to Sithambaram’s submission yesterday that as prime minister, Najib should have lodged a police report after learning that a large amount of money was channelled into his accounts.
The prosecution said the RM42 million was deposited in Najib’s accounts in three transactions between December 2014 and February 2015.
Harvinderjit also said it was public knowledge that on Jan 26, 2016, then-attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib of any wrongdoing in relation to the SRC International case and the RM2.6 billion “donation”, purportedly from an Arab prince.
Najib, 66, is facing three counts of criminal breach of trust, one charge of abusing his position and three counts of money laundering over SRC International funds amounting to RM42 million.
The Pekan MP was charged with committing the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd on Jalan Raja Chulan and the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya between Aug 17, 2011, and Feb 10, 2015.
Nazlan will deliver his ruling as to whether Najib should enter his defence or be acquitted on Nov 11.