KUALA LUMPUR (May 13): Police will check CCTV footage from a deluxe Kuala Lumpur apartment block at which relatives of ousted Prime Minister Najib Razak may have been staying, but the city’s police chief said an earlier Reuters report had mischaracterised the operation on Saturday as a “raid”.
Kuala Lumpur’s top cop, Mazlan Lazim, told Reuters police were acting on a complaint and were there only to recover the video footage for forensic analysis. “You cannot call it a raid,” he said.
Mazlan said police were acting after a complaint, based on video footage, that a van with a logo from the department of the prime minister and cabinet had delivered boxes carrying designer handbags to the apartment for Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor.
Mazlan said police went to the Pavilion Residences to "see the CCTVs".
"We have to analyse the cameras, that's for the forensic team," he said.
Two senior police officers involved in the operation, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Saturday that investigators were not primarily interested in any possible luxury items but were chasing documents that could be vital for investigations into Najib's administration.
Mazlan said the complainants did not see any handbags.
"They only saw the boxes," he said.
"Maybe they used the boxes (to) bring things to other places because they have been removed from the government," he said, adding: "We will investigate all aspects."
A spokesman for Najib could not be immediately reached for comment. Reuters was unable to reach Najib himself, his wife, or other family members and close associates.
Mazlan said the ongoing investigation would be "thorough" and "methodical".
