KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak's wife, Rosmah Mansor, has been allowed to temporarily take back her passport so that she can travel to Singapore to visit her pregnant daughter who is expected to give birth soon.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Friday (Oct 15) allowed the application by Rosmah, who is currently on trial for graft, for the temporary release of her travel document after it was informed that the prosecution was not objecting to it.
Justice Mohammed Zaini Mazlan made the order for Rosmah's passport to be returned to her on Friday and that it must be returned to the court before or by Dec 6.
According to the notice of motion seen by The Star, Rosmah was seeking the release of her passport to visit her daughter Nooryana Najwa, who is eight months pregnant.
Ms Nooryana, 33, has a history of high-risk complications during childbirth and is due to deliver her second child soon in Singapore.
Earlier, the court was informed by Rosmah's lawyer, Datuk Jagjit Singh, that Rosmah would be returning to Malaysia by or on Nov 24.
Meanwhile, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam told the court that the prosecution had no objection to the application, subject to Rosmah's travel dates not affecting the agreed trial dates.
"They (the defence) must strictly adhere to the timeline agreed. We do not want delays," he said.
Justice Mohammed Zaini said the quarantine period for travellers returning to Malaysia is 14 days.
He said if Rosmah were to return on Nov 24, she must be tested for Covid-19 again on the 14th day and make herself available on Dec 8, which is one of the trial dates.
"I am not agreeable to Nov 24. I am suggesting we give and take one or two days. I insist on (the applicant returning by) Nov 21.
"Here is my order. The passport will be returned today and must be returned to the court before or on Dec 6 with the condition that the applicant could travel to Singapore only from Oct 22 and must return to Malaysia before or by Nov 21," he said.
Rosmah is facing one charge of soliciting RM187.5 million (S$60.9 million) and two counts of receiving bribes totalling RM6.5 million from Jepak Holdings' former managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin.
The bribes were allegedly received through her former aide Rizal Mansor as a reward for helping Jepak Holdings secure a RM1.25 billion tender to install and maintain solar hybrid and diesel generators for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
Rosmah is alleged to have committed the offences at Lygon Cafe, Sunway Putra Mall in Kuala Lumpur, at her residence in Taman Duta, and at the prime minister's official residence Seri Perdana in Putrajaya, between January 2016 and September 2017.
The charges, under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act, provide for imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of up to five times the amount of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
