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Najib committed ‘worst kind’ of abuse of position: Judge

This article is more than 12 months old

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court judge who convicted former prime minister Najib Razak described the details that emerged at his trial as "the worst kind" of abuse of position, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering.

Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali sentenced Najib to 12 years in jail and a fine of RM210 million (S$69 million), in default of five years' jail for the single count of abuse of power.

He was also sentenced to 10 years' jail each for the three counts of CBT and three counts of money laundering. All jail time was ordered to run concurrently.

Justice Nazlan said Najib did not express any remorse after he was found guilty on July 28.

The judge made his remarks in a 801-page grounds of his judgment, with the report dated Aug 21. The judgment, seen by The Star, formed part of the appeal record sent to the Court of Appeal.

Justice Nazlan said based on how the crimes were committed, the huge sum involved and its public impact, he would not hesitate to characterise the case as "the worst kind" of abuse of position, CBT and money laundering.

"And perhaps most importantly, it involved the person who at the material time, was in the highest ranking authority in the government," he wrote.

"Political history will continue to debate whether he has done on balance more good than harm. But this very process would arguably be inimical to the ideals of a clean administration that does not tolerate corruption and abuse of power."

Najib has filed an appeal. - THE STAR

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