Rosmah breaks down in court, says charges cruel and heinous

KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor could not contain her emotions and broke down in tears in the High Court here today when giving her testimony, and described the corruption charges made against her as a cruel act on her and her family.

Rosmah, 69, who was clad in baju kurung and a matching scarf, burst into tears as she read out the last two pages of her witness statement on the second day proceeding of her defence trial on three charges of corruption, involving involving a hybrid solar project worth RM1.25 billion for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.

She said the prosecution had closed both eyes to errors and irregularities in the process of awarding the tender to Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd.;

She claimed it was masterminded by then Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and the then secretary-general of the Education Ministry, Tan Sri Madinah Mohamed and then her successor, Datuk Seri Alias Ahmad, who were all prosecution witnesses in the case.

"Although Mahdzir, Madinah, Alias, the then managing director of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, Saidi Abang Samsuddin (SP17) and Datuk Rizal Mansor (SP21) should have been taken action against for the offences committed, the prosecution preferred to have them as witnesses with no charges made against them.

"This is done so that they, too, could point their fingers at me, someone with no position in the government and has no authority to approve any government project whatsoever, but to cover up their wrongdoings which are now exposed to the public.

"This is a cruel and heinous act against me and my family. This is also a malicious and selective prosecution against me," she said sobbing.

This prompted judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan to ask her whether she was alright.

Rosmah, who testified from the witness stand, replied, "I'm sorry Your Honor, I've gone through a lot" and then continued with her testimony after wiping her tears.

She said the prosecution knew that all the charges against her were baseless on account of Rizal's willingness to become the crown witness and conspire with them (prosecution) to give false evidence in court to enable the charges against him to be withdrawn.

Rosmah told the court that she had never received RM6.5 million from Saidi, allegedly sent to her in Jalan Langgak Duta and Seri Perdana, to help expedite the process of awarding the hybrid solar project to his company.

She said Rizal's claim that the RM6.5 million was placed in four bags, allegedly sent separately to the prime minister's official residence in Seri Perdana on Dec 20, 2016, and his house in Langgak Duta on Sept 7, 2017, was a lie.

"I had never received RM5 million in two bags allegedly given by Saidi through Rizal to me in Seri Perdana and Rizal's claim that the two bags were handed over to two butlers and then handed over to me, is not true," she added.

She also said the prosecution, in not calling the butler as a witness, was a deliberate act as they knew the incident never happened.

"If it is true what Rizal said that I allegedly instructed the butler to carry the two black bags with orange stripes to my room, the prosecution would have certainly call the butler as their important witness during the prosecution case," she added.

On Feb 18, the High Court ordered Rosmah to enter her defence on the three corruption charges after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against her.

Rosmah, 69, was charged with soliciting RM187.5 million and two counts of receiving bribes of RM6.5 million from Saidi through Rizal.

It was an inducement to help the company (Jepak Holdings) to secure the Hybrid Photovoltaic Solar System Integrated Project and maintenance and operation of genset/diesel for 369 rural schools in Sarawak worth RM1.25 billion through direct negotiation from the Education Ministry.

The offence was allegedly committed at Lygon Cafe, Sunway Putra Mall, Jalan Putra, here; her residence at Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta and at Seri Perdana, Persiaran Seri Perdana, Presint 10, Putrajaya, between January 2016 and September 2017.

The hearing continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA