Malaysia court dismisses ex-PM's bid to serve sentence under house arrest

A Malaysian court on Monday dismissed jailed ex-premier Najib Razak's bid to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, saying a royal document allowing the move was invalid as it was not made according to procedure.

Najib, imprisoned since August 2022 for his role in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal, was bidding to compel authorities to confirm the existence of and execute a royal order that he said was issued last year as part of a pardon by the then-king, entitling him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Alice Loke said the existence of the order was not in dispute, but the former king should have consulted the country's pardons board before making the order to allow Najib house arrest.

The decision to deny him house arrest comes just days before Najib faces his biggest trial in the 1MDB scandal, with another court set to deliver its judgement on Friday. Najib has denied all of the charges brought against him.