Rosmah Guilty Of Soliciting Bribes From A Contractor In 2016 & 2017
Just last week, former Prime Minister (PM) of Malaysia Najib Razak received a 12-year jail sentence for his role in the 1MDB scandal.
Today (1 Sep), his wife Rosmah appeared in court to face her own verdict in a corruption case involving a solar energy project in Sarawak.
The court pronounced her guilty, though no news has surfaced regarding her potential punishment.
Court deems Rosmah guilty of corruption in Sarawak solar project
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Rosmah faced the following charges and accusations:
- Soliciting S$58 million (RM187.5 million) in bribes from a contractor in 2016 & 2017
- Receiving bribes amounting to S$2 million (RM6.5 million) from the same contractor, on two occasions
In total, she allegedly solicited S$61 million in bribes, The Straits Times (ST) estimates.
She had reportedly done so to help the contractor’s company secure a S$392 million (RM1.25 billion) government project.
The project aimed to provide solar energy to 369 schools in the rural parts of Sarawak.
After 42 days of trial, the court found the 70-year-old guilty of all three charges “beyond reasonable doubt”.
Verdict comes after much delay
CNA noted that the verdict comes after 42 days of trial that ended on 23 Feb 2022.
The court case itself started in Feb 2020 but faced multiple delays due to Rosmah’s health issues and a witness undergoing home surveillance due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
ST reports that Rosmah received a 10-year prison sentence and a S$303 million (RM970 million) fine. However, the court has allowed her to remain out on bail.
She is still pending trials for other charges including laundering illegal proceeds and tax evasion in connection to 1MDB.
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Featured image adapted from Bernama TV on Facebook.
