By V. Anbalagan | Free Malaysia Today
The Court of Appeal has unanimously allowed Rosmah Mansor’s application to introduce fresh evidence in her appeal against her conviction in the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project corruption case.
A three-member bench comprising Justices Azhahari Kamal Ramli, Choo Kah Sing and K Muniandy said Rosmah satisfied the requirements under Section 61 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 and the test laid down in Ladd v Marshall for admitting additional evidence.
The court ordered the additional evidence to be taken before a new High Court judge within two weeks of case management, which was set for Sept 10.
The bench also rescheduled Rosmah’s appeal hearing to Oct 14-16 and Oct 19-23.
Choo, who delivered the broad grounds, said evidence from the 16th prosecution witness Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah, would be taken through further cross-examination and re-examination.
Rosmah had sought leave to rely on a police report, a statutory declaration sworn by Rayyan and supporting documents.
She claimed the material showed that Rayyan had been subjected to prosecutorial pressure during the trial and that his evidence against her had been compromised.
Requirements for adducing new evidence
Choo said that to adduce fresh evidence, the evidence must not have been reasonably obtainable during the trial, be relevant and credible, and be capable of reasonably leading to a different verdict if admitted.
He said Rosmah could not reasonably have obtained the material during the trial based on Rayyan’s account that he had been subjected to prosecutorial pressure and surveillance.
He also said the new evidence was directly relevant to Rosmah’s alleged knowledge and intent, the role of her former aide Rizal Mansor and Rayyan’s credibility.
Rayyan had also alleged that his statement to investigators had been suppressed, and produced previously unavailable WhatsApp communications and other documents.
Choo stressed that the court was not determining the truth of the new evidence at this stage but only whether it was credible and capable of belief.
He said the statutory declaration, supported by contemporaneous documents, met that threshold and could be tested through cross-examination.
The court found that, if accepted, the new evidence could reasonably create doubt over Rosmah’s guilt, particularly given the trial judge’s reliance on Rayyan’s testimony.
“Allegations that a witness’s testimony was compromised by prosecutorial pressure strike at the integrity of the fact-finding process,” Choo said, adding that refusing the application in such circumstances could risk a miscarriage of justice.
Deputy public prosecutor Asnawi Abu Hanipah later told reporters that he would seek instructions on whether to appeal against today’s ruling to the Federal Court.
On Sept 2, 2022, High Court judge Zaini Mazlan convicted Rosmah of soliciting RM187.5 million from former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin through Rizal as an inducement to help the company secure the solar hybrid project.
She was also found guilty of receiving RM5 million from Saidi through Rizal at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya on Dec 20, 2016, and a further RM1.5 million at her Jalan Langgak Duta residence on Sept 7, 2017.
Zaini sentenced Rosmah to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the three charges, to run concurrently, and imposed a RM970 million fine. He ordered her to serve an additional 10 years’ imprisonment if she failed to pay the fine.
Lawyers Amer Hamzah Arshad, Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin and Akberdin Abdul Kader appeared for Rosmah, while Asnawi and Isnina Hanim Hashim represented the prosecution.
