KUALA LUMPUR: After just 30 minutes of Datuk Seri Najib Razak reading his witness statement, the trial was abruptly adjourned to 2pm to allow urgent amendments to the 525-page document.
The former prime minister is set to read the entire document, divided into two volumes, before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.
Najib's lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said at the outset of the proceedings that his client intended to read the full witness statement to present his side of the story comprehensively.
"He (Najib) has asked... it is his instruction to me that this witness statement be read because if it is not read, it would not register in his head," he said.
A witness statement can either be read aloud in court or accepted by the court as if it has already been read.
The senior lawyer said they had been working under pressure to complete the witness statement within one month since Najib was ordered to enter his defence on Oct 30.
"This is the minimum we could do. Taking instructions from a client in the setting of a prison is not easy.
"It's a very trying condition. When we are about to achieve something, it's time to go back," he said, adding that Najib had been busy in prison giving instructions to his legal team, with some documents left with him overnight for his review.
The court asked the accused to read the statement at an accelerated pace.
However, as Najib read his witness statement, Shafee highlighted several amendments, prompting the court to adjourn and resume after lunch.
Najib, 71, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.