BID FOR HOUSE ARREST
Separately, the Court of Appeal will on Thursday hear Najib’s challenge against a lower court’s refusal to hear his request for house arrest.
His application for a judicial review centres on the purported existence of an order by the former king, granting him permission to serve the rest of his sentence at home.
Najib asked the court to compel the government to confirm the royal decree’s existence and to implement its order.
But the court ruled in July that affidavits supporting Najib’s claim were inadmissible as evidence, because they were hearsay.
The supposed document has not been made public and there has been no comment from the former king, whose term in the largely ceremonial role ended in January.
If the appeals court rules in Najib’s favour, the case will go back to the lower court.
There has also been speculation he could benefit from a proposed law allowing house arrest as an alternative punishment for select offences next year.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government has denied the Bill was tailored to get Najib out of jail.
Andrew Khoo, a lawyer in Kuala Lumpur, said Najib faces an uphill battle in his bid for house arrest, as he was sentenced for a serious offence.
“It would send the wrong message to the public at large that even those convicted of serious offences can serve their jail sentence from home,” he told AFP.
Source: CNA
