PETALING JAYA: Attorney-General (A-G) Tommy Thomas (pic) said he is not aware that the High Court judge in former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's case is the brother of Pahang Umno state executive council member Datuk Seri Mohd Soffi Abdul Razak.

It has been learnt that High Court judge Datuk Mohd Sofian Abd Razak is the younger brother of Benta Umno state assemblyman Mohd Soffi.

Upon hearing the news, Thomas said that: "This is the first time I heard about this."

A search found that both Mohd Soffi and Mohd Sofian received the Sri Indera Mahkota Pahang (SIMP) award, which carries the title Datuk, by Sultan Ahmad Shah Sultan Abu Bakar in 2012.

Mohd Soffi, who is chairperson of the Pahang State Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Committee, retained his Benta state seat in the 14th General Election with a slim 340 vote majority. The Benta seat has been held by the 61-year-old politician since 1999.

As for Mohd Sofian, 57, he was appointed a judicial commissioner in 2005 before he was appointed High Court judge in 2007.

Najib on Wednesday claimed trial to three counts of criminal breach of trust and another charge of abuse of power involving RM42 million linked to SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Najib pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out to him by Mohd Sofian.

Mohd Sofian set the bail at RM1mil with two sureties. He ordered Najib to surrender both his civilian and diplomatic passports to the court.

The court also agreed for the bail payment to be in two installments. Najib left the court complex after paying RM500,000 on Wednesday. The remainder will be paid on Monday.