KL Police Chief Says Report About Raid On Apartment Of Najib's Family Is "Fake News"
He also criticised media agencies for reporting an incident based on speculation.
By Katrina Khairul Azman — 13 May 2018, 02:45 PM
Police have refuted news reports published yesterday, 12 May, claiming that a raid was conducted at a deluxe apartment belonging to relatives of former Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Razak
"There is no raid. The police only came to get statements from auxiliary policemen based there following a police report made on a video recording," said City police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim, The Star reported.
"We came to check the CCTV footage," he added.
Mazlan criticised media agencies for reporting an incident that had not occurred based on speculation
"Some of these reports published are not from credible sources. They probably heard it from a third party. It is not only unethical but is also an offence," Mazlan told New Straits Times.
"The Reuters story is not true. Fake news," he said.
Yesterday, 13 May, Reuters reported that 20 police officers raided the Pavilion Residences apartment block to prevent government documents from being taken out of the country
The raid was alleged to have occurred as newly elected Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced the key members of his cabinet at a news conference on Saturday afternoon
During the press conference, Mahathir confirmed that he was behind the Department of Immigration's decision to bar Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, from leaving the country due to his suspected involvement in the 1MDB scandal that broke in 2016.
Reuters claimed that police had received a complaint that a government vehicle delivered boxes containing 50 of Rosmah's Birkin handbags to the apartment in question on Thursday, 10 May
The complaint was lodged by two leaders of the youth wing of Mahathir's political party, Parti Peribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
The individuals alleged that they received video footage of the van belonging to the Prime Minister's Department transporting the handbags, which cost approximately $200,000 each, Channel News Asia reported.
According to the Reuters exclusive, the police officers said that investigators were more concerned with the documents, which was said could be vital for investigations into Najib's administration, than the luxury items.