Malaysia’s Imelda Marcos, Rosmah Mansor, the former first lady of Malaysia, gets sentenced to 10 years in prison for graft after amassing hundreds of expensive bags and diamond jewelry during her husband’s rule.
The couple have been the focus of multiple graft investigations since Najib’s surprise election defeat in 2018, when voters’ anger over a separate, multi-billion dollar corruption scandal ended his nine years in power.
She will remain free on bail pending appeals to higher courts.
Rosmah, dressed in a yellow baju kurung – a traditional Malaysian long blouse and skirt – and matching headscarf, addressed the judge tearfully immediately after the verdict.
“I must admit that I’m very sad with what happened today,” she said. “Nobody saw me taking the money, nobody saw me counting the money…. but if that’s the conclusion, I leave it to God.”
Rosmah, 70, had pleaded not guilty to the three charges of soliciting and receiving bribes between 2016 and 2017 to help a company secure a $279 million solar power supply project from Najib’s government.
Prosecutors say Rosmah sought a bribe of 187.5 million ringgit ($41.80 million), and received 6.5 million ringgit from an official of the company that won the project.
Prosecutors said Rosmah had sought a bribe of 187.5m ringgit and had received 6.5m ringgit from an official of a company that won the bid for a solar energy project.
She had earlier argued that she was framed by her former aide as well as other officials involved in the project, but the judge called her defence “bare denial and unsubstantiated”.
Her legal team had also filed a last-ditch application on Wednesday to get the presiding judge recused. They argued that an alleged leaked document which stated that her guilty verdict had been decided ahead of time had left her with no faith in the judge’s ability to hear the case fairly.
But Judge Mazlan dismissed the recusal application, saying the prosecution had proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram said the Malaysian people were entitled to “receive their share of justice”.
“Justice is not only to the accused, it is also to the state,” he said, according to a video posted on social media.
The sentencing was praised by a Malaysian civil society group.
“Justice has been served for the people of Malaysia,” Mandeep Singh, former secretariat manager of Bersih 2.0 told the BBC.
“For the people of Malaysia, we can’t stop here. [Rosmah] can still appeal, but we hope that eventually she will join her husband in prison.”
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