1MDB trial adjourned for Najib to be taken to hospital to see a doctor.
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur today cut short the hearing of jailed former prime minister Najib Razak’s case, in which he is accused of misappropriating of RM2.3 billion in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds, due to Najib’s apparent ill health.
Senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram, who is the prosecution lead, told Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah that he was informed by a Prisons Department officer that Najib’s condition was “quite bad”.
“The accused’s medication for blood pressure has been changed and it has adverse effects.
“I was informed that Najib’s condition is quite bad, but he is prepared to be here (for the trial) until 12.30pm. By 2pm he has to be taken to the hospital to see a doctor,” he said.
Sequerah agreed to adjourn the trial at 12.30pm.
The former prime minister who was clad in a blue suit was in the dock, while his wife, Rosmah Mansor and daughter Nooryana Najwa, were seen sitting at the public gallery.
Meanwhile, Najib’s family has urged the authorities to grant him access to proper medical care and observation, saying that his blood pressure has reached dangerously high levels today.
Najib’s special officer, Muhamad Mukhlis Maghribi, said doctors discovered multiple new ulcers in his stomach during a scope last Saturday.
Mukhlis said doctors from Kuala Lumpur Hospital had to clip several ulcers in Najib’s stomach to stop bleeding that occurred during a biopsy on Sunday.
“It has been a recurring problem since more than 15 years ago. In 2010, it was public knowledge that he was hospitalised for a few days due to his condition.
“Last year, he was also in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a private hospital for about a week, where he had five blood transfusions to replace the blood lost due to internal bleeding,” Mukhlis said in a statement today.
He said Najib had requested to be held for observation at Kuala Lumpur Hospital, but the request was denied.
“The doctor discharged him, changed his medication from the usual (prescription) that he had been taking for years, and sent him back to Kajang Prison.
“This morning, a test by a medical assistant showed that Najib’s blood pressure is dangerously high due to the change in medication.”