Jailed Malaysian ex-PM Najib loses bid for house arrest / Photo: MOHD RASFAN - AFP
-
Aston Villa Defy History With Rare Victory at Old Trafford
-
Brussels Education Unions Schedule Major November Protest Over Funding and Reforms
-
Crowds Gather at San Francisco Park for Elizabeth Holmes Lookalike Tournament
-
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - November 09
-
Making Your Home Safer for Aging Parents: Accessibility Renovations That Add Value
-
New 401k Gold IRA Investment Guide Explains the Best Way to Invest in Gold for Retirement (2026 Update)
-
iPS Cell Research Accelerates Drug Discovery for ALS and Spinal Cord Injury
-
Central Tokyo Apartment Rents Forecast to Rise 11% by 2030
-
Rene Eyre Revisits Autobiographical Performance 'Say A Little Prayer' in London
-
London Museum Granted 24/7 License Ahead of November Opening
-
UAE's HCT Holds Record Graduation and Announces Major Training Expansion
-
Dana White Confirms Flight to Washington for Trump Meeting on Press Secretary Role
-
NASA Awards $10B Lunar Contract Framework to SpaceX, Blue Origin
-
Dengue Fever Expands Into High Himalayas as Climate Change Warms Nepal
Jailed Malaysian ex-PM Najib loses bid for house arrest
Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak lost a bid Monday to have his jail term changed to house arrest, a setback ahead of a separate verdict this week tied to the country's 1MDB scandal.
Najib, 72, serving a six-year jail term for corruption linked to the plunder of Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, which sparked probes in several countries.
His lawyers had argued that the purported existence of an order by Malaysia's former king, called a "royal addendum", granted him permission to serve the rest of his current sentence at home.
But on Monday, Judge Alice Loke Yee Ching Loke disagreed, saying the royal addendum was not a valid order.
Therefore "the court cannot issue an ...order to direct a house arrest", Loke told the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
"There is no legal provision for house arrest in Malaysia," the judge added. "The judicial review is dismissed."
Najib was tried and originally sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in July 2020, but the term was later halved by a pardons board.
The 1MDB scandal led to investigations in more than eight countries, including the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, resulting in billions paid back in settlements.
On Friday, Najib faces yet another verdict in a separate trial linked to the financial scandal that led to his defeat in the 2018 elections.
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN
