Malaysia court rejects Najib’s bid to serve sentence under house arrest

A court in Malaysia rejected former prime minister Najib Razak’s request to serve the remainder of his sentence for corruption at home, arguing that a royal document authorizing the move was invalid because it was not made in accordance with the law.

Najib, who has been incarcerated since August 2022 for his involvement in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal, received yet another blow from the court’s decision on Monday.

Najib has urged Malaysian authorities to ratify and carry out a royal order that, according to him, was issued last year as part of a pardon granted to the then-king, allowing him to spend the rest of his sentence in his own home.

The former king should have consulted the country’s pardons board before granting the order, according to Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Alice Loke, who on Monday stated that the order’s existence was uncontested.

The court’s decision to deny him house arrest comes just as Najib’s biggest trial of the 1MDB scandal is scheduled to begin its proceedings on Friday.

Najib has refuted every charge brought against him.