Allegations have swirled from inside the courtroom of the ongoing trial involving former prime minister, Najib Razak, SRC International, and charges that he used the front to siphon funds from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.
Local newspaper The Star reported that Najib could be seen in plain view taking his phone out mid-proceedings, and using it to zoom in and out using his camera lens. It was aimed towards the front of the courtroom, where Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Gazali was directing comments at Najib’s own head of legal council, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
At the time, a witness from Maybank’s main branch was on the stand for cross-examination.
Was Najib simply using his camera to zoom in order to see better, just like that obnoxious person in front of you at the Thundercat show, desperately trying to make out every brow furrow and lip curl?
Or was he keeping a forever memento for his own personal archives of that time he was on trial for over 40 charges related to his (allegedly!) corrupt regime? Sometimes, scores of wide-angle shots from AFP, Reuters, AP and the good folk over at Bernama just isn’t enough!
However, we’d like to remind the former leader that any kind of recording, whether audio or visual, from the inside the courtroom is not allowed! We wouldn’t want a 43rd charge, now would we?
Media inside have reported that no one seemed to notice Najib’s turn as a courtroom Annie Leibovitz, and proceedings continued as per usual.
Last month, the High Court was forced to make a statement regarding clips of proceedings being shared on social media after a special officer from Najib’s side posted a two-minute long clip from the fifth day of trial.
