Calling in sick has become a constant theme for Najib’s key lawyer Shafee Abdullah and those around him, as it seems every other mode of delay and avoidance runs out in the various trials they are involved in.

The litany of excuses finally reached farcical levels today, when Shafee announced his latest misadventure to delay matters further over Najib’s latest appeal, claiming an accident caused by his pet puppy dog had cracked his hand rendering him unfit to represent his client, who is charged with so many gross crimes that one wonders how judges considered him fit for bail?

The sort of extremists that client Najib Razak now counts as his new political ‘marriage partners’, would of course condemn Shafee for having such a pet in the first place.  However an excuse there clearly had to be.

Cases of Sickness and Shafee Abdullah

Illness also bought time for Shafee personally just last Friday, this time on the part of the judge who was supposed to pass judgement on a case of contempt of court by Shafee, which seems so clear cut that this disgraceful operator ought to have been sentenced and disbarred months ago, and yet time and again proceedings get delayed. On Thursday the judge had himself called in to warn he would be sick for the following court day.

That meant that Shafee remains unsentenced to continue to represent his boss for now at least, until any of these matters ever get to court, given the level of sickness and misfortune that presently surrounds Shafee Abdullah.

For, bear in mind, the contempt of court charge that this notorious lawyer faces is itself linked to a bout of bogus sickness orchestrated by Shafee, who was attempting to keep yet another case involving his boss and Rosmah Mansor out of court in advance of GE14.

This matter related to Deepak Jaikashan, where Deepak was being blackmailed by Najib, Shafee and accomplices (according to extensive evidence before the court) to drop his decision to speak as a witness and defendant in the case brought against the ex-prime minister and his wife by Selvi Bala, the widow of the private detective caught up in the Altantuya murder case.

Shafee (according to texts and recordings now before the court) had threatened Deepak that he must take him on as lawyer to manage the case so that Deepak would be removed as a witness and Najib got off the hook over evidence that he had abused his position as Finance Minister to blackmail Deepak with huge tax bills unless he shut up about the Altantuya case and the way in which the Bala family were bundled out of the country to silence PI Bala’s declaration that Najib was involved.

To avoid Deepak appearing in court (since Deepak was refusing to lie about matters he had already put publicly on record) Shafee orchestrated a series of bogus medical emergencies and hospital appointments on dates Deepak was due in court.  His client was “bleeding from all orifices” Shafee told the judge on one occasion. On another Shafee had Deepak sent to hospital to receive a doctor’s consultation, which made plain the symptoms were being exaggerated.

Deepak has now confessed to the court how he cooperated in these outrageous acts of contempt and lies to the judge, owing to the fact that he was being blackmailed by the huge tax demands that he was told would be lifted if he cooperated. He has produced proof showing Shafee was complicit and furthermore the orchestrator of the whole bogus sicknote farce.

This is the reason for the criminal proceedings for contempt against Shafee, for which he ought to have been sentenced last week…. had not the judge called in sick themself, after various other complications and delays that have prolonged the situation since late last year.

This did leave Shafee free still to represent his client today, had Shafee not called in sick owing to his dog.  Najib seems likely to fall sick next, but hopefully not Najib’s judge.

Anyone would think that Najib is not quite as desperate as he says he is to get to court to prove his innocence over 38 charges of embezzlement, criminal breach of trust and all the rest.