Daim's lawyers slam prosecution over questioning of medical certificate

SHAH ALAM - The legal representative for the late Tun Daim Zainuddin's family has accused the prosecution of attempting to undermine and embarrass the former finance minister and his family at every stage of the legal proceedings.

Their comments followed a controversial incident at a recent hearing, where the prosecution allegedly cast doubt on a medical certificate (MC) issued for Daim’s non-attendance.

“This became evident during the last hearing, when the two deputy public prosecutors (DPPs) openly questioned the legitimacy of the MC issued by the hospital, casting doubt on his absence despite the court’s prior exemption.

“Their accusations even extended to questioning the credibility of the doctors and staff who provided the MC and sought to verify Daim's sanity,” Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar and Abraham Au said in a statement today.

The lawyers pointed out that the attempt to connect a MC for a physical illness to a sanity check highlighted the extreme lengths the prosecution had gone to.

"Finally, I hope the DPPs can now see for themselves that his MC was for real and not some sham contrivance to avoid an appearance in court,” they said.

On Oct 17, Daim's absence from the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court and the MC submitted by his defence led to contention during his trial.

The prosecution questioned the authenticity of Daim's MC, stating it lacked an explanation of his condition and requested a full medical report from Petaling Jaya Assunta Hospital.

DPP Law Chin How argued that Daim’s absence, particularly given his history of missed court appearances since January, raised concerns.

He requested the doctor who issued the MC and the nursing sister to testify in court about Daim's health.

Co-DPP Mohamad Fadly Mohd Zamry emphasised that Daim's repeated absences were serious, highlighting that the MC did not indicate Daim was unfit for court.

He stressed the importance of adhering to court rules to prevent abuse of the process.

Daim's defence lawyer, Gurdial, clarified that the postponement was due to his recent appointment and the need for time to prepare Daim's amendment application, not the hospitalisation.

Meanwhile, when contacted, deputy public prosecutor Wan Shahruddin Wan Ladin said Daim's lawyer was highly unprofessional in criticising the prosecution regarding the MC given to the former senior Umno leader.

"It is very unprofessional of Gurdial to criticise the prosecution without us being able to defend ourselves and I thought all parties had put a closure on the issue.

"The MC was signed by a nurse and that prompted the prosecution to question the validity of the MC.

"I thought the matter has been settled in today's proceedings," he said.