Najib on three days' MC after catching conjunctivitis

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been deemed to be medically unfit to attend his corruption trial after he contracted conjunctivitis.

His lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah informed High Court Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali that Najib had been given three days MC (medical leave).

“I received a call from him at 7.45 this morning. He obviously did not sound well. His doctor informed him that he is down with contagious conjunctivitis… it must have happened overnight,” he said at the onset of proceedings this morning.

Shafee said he had shown Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk V Sithambaram pictures of Najib's condition and also a WhatsApp copy of his client's MC.

Sithambaram confirmed having seen Najib's photo and said the former prime minister's condition “looks quite bad”.

“As we know conjunctivitis is quite contagious and we may all end up catching it (if Najib comes to court),” he said.

Mohd Nazlan then asks the parties if there was any chance of Najib attending the court on Friday.

“Is there any chance of him miraculously recovering by Friday?” he asked.

Shafee replied that it was unlikely that his client would recover by then and that there was a likelihood of others getting infected if Najib actually turned up.

“If that happens, we will all end up looking at the case with jaundiced eyes,” he said in jest, much to the amusement of those in court.

The judge then granted an adjournment and fixed Monday for the continuation of trial.

Najib, 66, is facing seven counts of money laundering and abuse of power in relation to RM42 million of SRC International funds.

He faces up to 20 years jail and fine for the offence.