KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor was charged at the Sessions Court today with receiving RM5 million in kickbacks over the solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
The wife of ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak who was clad in a green baju kurung with a matching scarf appeared calm as she pleaded not guilty to the charge that was read out to her before judge Azura Alwi.
This is the second time she was charged in relation to the project.
She arrived at the Courts Complex, here, at about 8.40am accompanied by her son Norashman.
Rosmah, 68, was accused of receiving a bribe of RM5 million from Saidi Abang Samsudin, 60, who is the managing director of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd through her aide Datuk Rizal Mansor.
According to the charge sheet, Rosmah purportedly received the money as a reward to help the company obtain a RM1.25 billion project known as the Hybrid Photovoltaic Solar System Integrated Project and Maintenance and Operation of Genset/Deisel, a solar hybrid project for 396 rural schools in Sarawak through direct negotiation from the Education Ministry.
She allegedly committed the offence at her home in Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta, here, on Dec 20, 2016.
The charge framed under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 carries a maximum jail term of 20 years with a fine of up to five times the value of the graft or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Dusuki Mokhtar offered RM1 million bail on grounds that the charge faced by the accused was a serious one and that the amount involved in the case was high.
“The punishment provided under the charge is high. We are applying for a bail to be imposed as the case might be tried separately with the accused’s previous cases,” he said.
However, Rosmah’s counsel Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader objected to the bail amount proposal saying that it was too high and that the accused has been present in court for her cases without fail.
“She is a fulltime housewife. We are asking for the court’s kindness to apply the RM1 million bail which was set for her other cases which involve the same project.
“There is no need for another bail to be imposed as the charge is just an addition to her previous cases and it is impossible for the court to hear the cases which involve the same witnesses in a different corum,” he said.
The court then allowed Rosmah to adopt the bail that has been set for her previous cases and fixed May 10 for mention.
On Nov 15 last year, Rosmah was charged with two counts of soliciting RM187.5 million and receiving RM1.5 million over the same project.