KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 17): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak showed up to court in a wheelchair on Tuesday after being hospitalised for acute knee inflammation last week.

Najib, however, did not need the aid of the wheelchair in the courtroom, as he was seen walking slowly using a cane. The court allowed the defence's request for the ex-PM to sit outside the dock on a chair to enable him to "stretch his legs".

Prior to that, the 71-year-old was spotted sitting in a wheelchair, surrounded by prison guards, as he attended the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore proceedings where he is facing four abuse of power charges for allegedly receiving gratifications worth US$620 million (RM2.27 billion). He also faces 21 money-laundering charges.

The trial, which is now at the submissions at the end of the prosecution stage, was vacated last week due to Najib's hospitalisation at Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

A medical professional tending to the ex-PM testified that Najib had acute knee inflammation. He was prescribed opioids which cause drowsiness, resulting in Najib not being at his full mental capacity to follow court proceedings.

The doctor also testified that Najib had several health issues which could be exacerbated by the prescription and needed monitoring.

The defence then continued with their submissions on what they allege to be flawed charges Najib faces in this trial.

Among others, the defence continued to argue on Tuesday that there was no "top-down" approach in 1MDB, with which Najib “compelled” the company's board to facilitate transactions and deals, by conveying his "wishes" through Minutes of Representatives (MR) and Shareholder's Special Resolution (SSR).

Defence counsel Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhrudin contended that the MR and the SSR were not a means to force board members to sign documents — particularly the Director's Resolution Circular (DCR) — greenlighting 1MDB-related deals.

He also argued that Najib's approval by way of the MR and the SSR came "very much later", after an idea was first forwarded by others, and that the ex-PM could not have construed the scheme for his interest.

Last week, presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah had cautioned parties that Oct 4 would be the cut-off for submissions. He said that he had read and was in the process of re-reading the lengthy submissions and therefore it was not necessary for parties to submit further.

Sequerah said that he would give a date to deliver his decision at the end of the prosecution's case on whether Najib has to enter his defence or if he walks free.

Najib was charged in 2018, and the trial began in August 2019. The trial for this case is in its sixth year now.