PUTRAJAYA:Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who has been sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million for misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds, is seeking to adjourn his appeal against his conviction and sentence scheduled to begin on Feb 15.

Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the letter for the adjournment had been submitted to the Court of Appeal President’s office today.

“We are asking for an adjournment because we need more time to examine the documents as we have identified several corrections in the bundle (of documents) which comprise notes of proceedings and 800 exhibits,” he told reporters after attending the case management before the Court of Appeal’s deputy registrars Darmafikri Abu Adam and N. Kanageswari.

The lawyer said the court had fixed Jan 25 for the next case management.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul and lawyers Farhan Read and Nur Syahirah Hanapiah, who were also representing Najib, were present during the case management.

On Oct 1, last year, the court fixed 12 days from Feb 15 to 18, 22 to 25, and March 1 to 4 for the hearing of the appeal.

The Pekan Member of Parliament has submitted 307 grounds in his petition of appeal on why he should be freed of the charges.

Najib had on July 30, filed the notice of appeal against the conviction and sentence meted out by High Court Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali after finding him guilty on seven charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), money laundering and abuse of position involving RM42 million of SRC funds.

On July 28, Najib was sentenced to 10 years’ jail on each of the three cases of CBT and each of the three cases of money laundering and 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million, in default five years’ jail, in the case of abuse of position.

However, he will only serve 12 years in jail as the judge ordered all the jail sentences to run concurrently. He is currently out on a RM2 million bail in two sureties pending appeal.

-- BERNAMA