KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 26): Lawyers for Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah have raised an objection against more than three-quarters of a key prosecution witness' testimony in his RM9.5 million money laundering trial. 

Lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, acting for Shafee, told the court on Tuesday that they are objecting to former Inland Revenue Board (IRB) officer Syed Nasrul Fahmi Syed Mohamad’s 51-paragraph written testimony which will be read out in court when he takes the stand. 

The lawyer told judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin that they are objecting to 33 paragraphs of the written statement because of their prejudicial nature and the fact that the witness allegedly gave legal opinions when he is not a legal professional. 

Harvinderjit said Syed Nasrul, who is supposed to be the sixth prosecution witness to take the stand in the trial, had pronounced Shafee as guilty in his witness statement. 

“When one reads his witness statements, he is qualified for accountancy and not law, yet he gives his interpretations of the provisions of the Income Tax Act,” he told the judge. 

“The only person who can give a legal opinion is you, Yang Arif,” he said on Tuesday morning. 

Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz said the defence's bid to expunge the contentious paragraphs would mess up the prosecution's case, and asked the court to deal with these issues at a later date.

The judge then decided that the court will hear the witness statement from Syed Nasrul read out in court, and set Dec 8 for the next trial date. 

He said that once the witness statement is read, he will have a clearer picture and have a better position to decide on the defence objections. 

On Monday, Justice Jamil granted Shafee temporary release of his passport to fly to New York. 

Shafee, who had surrendered his passport to the court as part of his bail terms in the trial, stated that he needs to fly to New York to accompany his son who is continuing his higher education in the US.

The judge then allowed the release of the passport and instructed Shafee to return it by Dec 3. 

In his application before the court, Shafee said he needs to fly to New York on Wednesday (Oct 27), and return on Nov 30, to help with his son’s “settling in” at the New School's Parsons in New York. 

Shafee has been on trial since Sept 13, 2018, for two charges of receiving money derived from illegal activities amounting to RM9.5 million through two cheques of RM4.3 million on Sept 5, 2013 and RM5.2 million on Feb 14, 2014, issued by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, which were allegedly deposited into the lawyer's CIMB Bank Bhd account.

He is also facing two charges of engaging in transactions resulting from illegal activities, namely submitting incorrect tax returns and in violation of Paragraph 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967 for the financial years ended Dec 31, 2013 and 2014.