KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 27): Attorneys of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin are asking the Sessions Court here to deny the prosecution’s request that their client undergoes a mental health evaluation to ascertain if he is fit to stand trial for his criminal case.

During a case management on Tuesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin filed an application for Daim to undergo the mental health assessment after a medical report by Assunta Hospital in Selangor showed that the 86-year-old had suffered multiple strokes.

Wan Shaharuddin said the report stated that Daim has an unsteady gait that could cause frequent falls. The report also mentioned that Daim had suffered from haemorrhaging in the brain.

“Based on the letter, we are in doubt whether he’s fit to stand trial. He should be sent for psychological evaluation to ascertain if he is fit to stand trial,” he told presiding judge Azura Alwi.

Wan Shaharuddin said Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) stipulates that Daim can be sent for mental evaluation at a gazetted government hospital to ascertain his fitness to stand trial.

However, Daim’s lawyer Nizamuddin Hamid argued that while his client might be physically frail, he is still mentally sound.

“I think we need to step back; despite the accused being an accused, he is a statesman. We object to the application because it’s a physical impediment which comes with age. It doesn’t affect his mental capability. We have been given direction by him; he understands the charges. We think it’s unfair for the prosecution to make this application,” he said.

However, Wan Shaharuddin pointed out that Daim has been given allowance from the court to not attend any of the case mentions and case managements in the trial due to his poor health condition.

“We are doing this for justice, not just for Tun Daim, but for the courts. We hope this doesn’t sound cruel. If you remember the first day when he was charged, the lawyers had to explain to him the charges. I don’t know why they (the defence) are defensive for the court to determine if he is fit (to stand) for this trial,” he said.

Another DPP Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry said this evaluation will help all parties ascertain Daim’s mental capacity before the trial.

“This is not an application which is made to punish the defence, but just to ascertain if the accused is fit to face his charges,” he said, adding that the defence should be in support of this assessment.

Azura said she will make her decision on this application on Oct 17. She added that Daim is not physically fit to sit for prolonged hours of the trial when it starts, and noted that “it’s another bridge we have to cross”.

Present in court was Daim’s wife Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid.

Before this application was made on Tuesday morning, Azura had denied an application by Daim and Na’imah’s lawyers to hear their trials in separate Sessions Courts. The couple’s cases are set to be heard before Azura.

Azura said the defence had failed to prove that there was a possibility of bias if the trials were heard before the same judge. Daim and Na’imah’s lawyers did not object to this decision.

On Jan 29, Daim pleaded not guilty to charges of failing to comply with a notice to declare his assets, including several luxury vehicles, companies, and properties across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Kedah.

Na’imah, 66, was charged on Jan 23 with failing to comply with a notice to declare her assets, which include Menara Ilham and several properties in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

They are both charged under Section 36(2) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which carries a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of RM100,000 upon conviction.