NAN
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to corruption charges over an agreement in 2016 for a solar panel project for schools in eastern Malaysia.
Rosmah was released on a one million ringgit bail (238,560 dollars).
Her former aide, Rizal Mansor, was also charged in a separate courtroom over the same case and was also released on a one million ringgit bail.
Rosmah pleaded not guilty to two counts of soliciting and accepting a 189 million ringgit bribe for a 1.25 billion ringgit solar energy project involving 369 rural schools in Sarawak state on Borneo.
The 66-year-old Rosmah, who already faces multiple money laundering and tax evasion charges, appeared to be calm and composed as the new charges were being read out to her in court.
READ ALSO: UK’s Brexit minister, Dominic Raab, resigns over May’s deal to leave EU
Upon leaving the building, a smiling Rosmah escorted by her husband Najib shed tears for the first time in public since his electoral defeat in May.
Emotional supporters approached her through a media scrum and heavy security.
In a separate unrelated case on Thursday, the court heard Adnan Mansor, former Federal Territories Minister during Najib’s tenure, pleading not guilty to receiving 3 million ringgit worth of bribes related to various land deals in Kuala Lumpur.
He was also released on one million ringgit bail.
Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s new prime minister, reopened the corruption case into a multibillion-dollar graft scandal against Najib after he defeated him in May’s elections.