Driver Delivered Bags of Cash to Rosmah’s House

1314
- Advertisement - [resads_adspot id="2"]

A former driver of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang testified that in late 2016 he drove his boss to Lygon Bistro at Sunway Putra Mall.

“Saidi often goes there to drink coffee and meet with friends for golf,” Shamsul Rizal Sharbini said.

Shamsul, 42, said he drove Saidi and the latter’s acquaintance, Razak Abdullah, to a Maybank branch in Jalan Medan Tuanku, Kuala Lumpur, at about 11am.

After the duo returned from the bank, Shamsul said he was instructed to buy two large black luggage bags at Pertama Complex and bring them to the men.

Saidi and Razak re-entered the bank and came out, each carrying one of the luggage bags. They brought the two bags to Shamsul’s Range Rover.

“They placed the suitcases in the boot. Saidi then sat in front and Razak at the back. Suddenly, a Malay man in a dark jacket entered the back seat and sat beside Razak.

“I don’t know who he was. He looked like a policeman because he had a firearm. Saidi told me he was afraid that something might happen to him and that he might die,” he said.

The quartet then headed for a residential building next to the Pavilion shopping complex where Saidi ordered him to remove both the bags.

“I had to carry them one at a time as the bags were too heavy for me to lift at one go. As I was bringing in the bags, I saw Rizal standing in the building lobby.

“Saidi and Razak took over the bags and they were accompanied by the ‘Malay man’. I do not know where they went as I had to leave to move the vehicle.

“Hardly half an hour later, Saidi called and instructed me to pick him up at the place where they had alighted earlier. When I got there, I saw the two luggage bags were already in a Toyota Vellfire car there,” he said.

The witness also said that, when leaving the place, only Saidi and Razak boarded the vehicle. The ‘Malay man’ did not follow them.

“Inside the car, Saidi joked that he wouldn’t even know who would come or who would want to kill him. Razak just laughed,” said Shamsul.

Shamsul testified he did not know the contents of the suitcases.

Shamsul also told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that he once delivered “two schoolbags stuffed with cash” to Rosmah’s residence in Taman Duta, Kuala Lumpur.

Towards the end of 2017, he was told to fetch Saidi from his home and head to the same Maybank branch.

Shamsul was then instructed to buy two backpacks – which he referred to as black “schoolbags” with orange linings – from Chow Kit costing RM45 each. Afterwards, he went to the bank.

Bernama

“At the top floor, I was instructed to place bundles of cash, in RM100 denominations, into both bags.

“I didn’t count the money and just placed it in the two backpacks. I brought the backpacks (out of the bank) and placed it in the car boot,” he said.

After leaving the bank with the money, Shamsul followed a Vellfire driven by Saidi’s business partner, Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah.

Shamsul said the two vehicles drove to a private residence in Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta, where Rizal was waiting at the entrance.

“It was the same house where I used to send Saidi to before. When I reached the house, I saw the front door was open. I dropped Saidi there, while Rayyan parked his car outside. At that time, I saw Datuk Rizal Mansor (Rosmah’s former aide) waiting at the door of the house.

“At the lobby, Rayyan instructed me to carry the bags,” Shamsul said, adding that the three men had a conversation.

“Saidi asked Rizal, ‘Where is madam?’. As far as I recall, Rizal replied, ‘Madam is upstairs’.”

Shamsul confirmed that the residence belonged to Najib.

Rizal, who was acquitted on January 8 of four counts of corruption involving the solar project, is expected to be called to testify against Rosmah, with whom he was originally slated to be jointly tried.

Azhar Mahfof/The Star

Rizal, along with Saidi, Razak and Rayyan, appeared briefly at today’s hearing to be identified by Shamsul.

When shown photographs depicting Rosmah’s residence, Shamsul identified a green sofa where he left the two bags.

Shamsul said the incident happened before Saidi’s company – Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd – secured a contract to supply solar power for rural schools in Sarawak worth RM1.2 billion.