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HomeAsian NewsEx-Malaysian First Lady Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Corruption

Ex-Malaysian First Lady Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Corruption


Wu Ailing
Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Former Malaysian first lady Rosmah Mansor was convicted on Sept. 1 of soliciting and accepting bribes a week after her husband’s corruption-tainted government 10 years in prison. Mass looting of 1MDB state funds.

Rosmah was charged between 2016 and 2017 with solicitation of $42 million and two charges of charging $1.5 million to help a company secure a project to supply solar panels to schools on Borneo Island.

The court sentenced her to 10 years in prison, with concurrent execution, and a $217 million fine on each charge. She will be granted bail pending an appeal to a higher court.

High Court Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said prosecutors proved beyond doubt that Rosmah had embezzled bribes and accepted money as his reward. He said her defense was a “blatant denial and lack of credible evidence.”

Earlier in the dock, Rosmah pleaded emotionally, saying she was sad and felt she was not getting justice. She said she had never raised any money or a penny while leading the charitable foundation during her tenure as the Prime Minister’s wife.

She also condemned the events that led to Najib’s imprisonment and her family’s suffering as a witch hunt.

“I don’t even know the cost of this project. So I’m just telling the truth, nothing but the truth,” she said. “If this is your conclusion, I surrender to God.”

Defense attorney Jajit Singh later told reporters that the fine was the largest in Malaysian history. He said Rosmah was shocked and disturbed and they planned to appeal to a higher court. Under the law, each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a five-fold fine for soliciting and accepting bribes.

Her conviction was another blow to Najib’s 12-year jail sentence after he lost his final appeal in one of five graft cases involving the multi-billion dollar theft of 1MDB.

Before the sentencing, Judge Zaini also dismissed Rosmah’s application to disqualify Rosmah after his alleged guilty verdict was leaked online. Police said the leaked documents were done within the court’s research unit, not the verdict, but Rosmah’s defenders said they had lost confidence in the judge’s impartiality.

The judge said he did not ask for the study, which was not his reason. He said he had not read the documents, had done his own research and had no prejudice against Rosmah. Malaysia’s Supreme Court earlier slammed the conduct of the site, run by a British blogger, as a “deliberate act” aimed at discrediting the court.

Before the court’s ruling was read out, the same website published a document saying it was the federal court’s guilty verdict against Najib. The court said the leaked document was a working draft of the ruling. The court has lodged a complaint with the police over the two leaks.

Najib and Rosmah have faced multiple corruption charges after shockingly ousting his United Malays group in the 2018 election amid public outrage over the 1MDB scandal.

Umno is back in power after defections brought down the reformist government that won polls in 2018.

Rosmah’s trial revealed her alleged influence in the government since her husband took office in 2009. Prosecutors said that although Rosmah did not hold any official position, she wielded considerable influence due to her “dominant nature”. Witnesses testified that a special unit called the “Malaysian First Lady” was set up to handle Rosmah’s affairs.

Her former aide, who was charged with Rosmah but later testified for the prosecution, told the court that many businessmen lobbied Rosmah to help secure government projects. The aide testified that Rosmah was feared by civil servants, and her department’s requests were often carried out swiftly.

The court also heard that she spent $22,300 a month on an online publicist to deflect criticism of her extravagant lifestyle, which led to her being despised by many Malaysians.

After Najib lost power, police raided his family home and seized hundreds of boxes of lavish Hermes Birkin bags, 423 watches, 14 tiaras and other jewelry and an estimated $246 million in cash.

During her trial, 23 prosecution witnesses testified, but only two defence witnesses were called, including Rosmah. She told the court she had never been involved in government affairs and that her former aide was a corrupt liar who used her name to demand bribes and pocket the money himself.

In a separate trial that has yet to begin, Rosmah is also charged with laundering 1MDB-related ill-gotten gains and tax evasion.

1MDB is a development fund set up by Najib after he took office. Investigators say more than $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates through multiple layers of bank accounts in the U.S. and other countries to finance Hollywood movies and items including hotels, luxury yachts, art and jewelry luxury purchases.



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