THE Kuala Lumpur High Court has granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over three money laundering charges involving RM27 mil from SRC International Sdn Bhd.
Justice K. Muniandy made the decision after allowing Najib’s application for the DNAA.
“In the present case there is nothing to show that the prosecution is able to proceed with the case for the time being, or proceed within a reasonable time,” the judge was quoted as saying in his brief judgement.
“Thus, it is unlikely that the case could proceed expeditiously in the short future.”
Muniandy further noted that for six years since the case was first brought against the former premier in 2019, no witness testimony has been pursued except for an array of postponements.
“This court is also mindful of the prevailing fact that the preferred charges against the accused date back to the offence being committed in the year 2014, now it is 2025, and the case has not taken off for trial.
“By the virtue of these factors, the most appropriate order is for this court to discharge the accused person without acquitting him so he’s not saddled with the charges preferred against him,” he added.
“Once the accused is charged in court, the charge cannot be hanging over its head for an indeterminate or indefinite period. That would be harsh and illegal.”
With today’s DNAA, Najib has only the 1MDB trial still pending.
He is currently serving a jail term for the misappropriation of RM42 mil in the SRC International funds case.
He was also previously acquitted over the removal of key information from the auditor-general’s 2016 report on 1MDB, and granted a DNAA in his RM6.6 bil International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) criminal breach of trust case.
Last week, Najib’s counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had submitted that it was unfair for his client to wait indefinitely for a fixed trial date as the prosecution was unable to provide a timeline to gather exhibits used in the previous SRC trial.
Shafee also urged the court to grant his client a DNAA in the interest of justice as trial has been indefinitely postponed since 2019.
A DNAA means an accused person can face trial for the same charges in the future if the prosecution decides to reinstate them. ‒ June 20, 2025
Main image: Bernama
