Najib Refused To Enter The Dock Meant For Accused During His Friday Case Management
The DPP said that Najib was "being stubborn".
By Sadho Ram — 18 Nov 2018, 03:36 PM
Najib Razak, who is currently out on bail in connection with his 25 criminal charges, was at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Friday
The former prime minister, who was at the KL Sessions Court for his case management, refused to enter the dock meant for the accused, reported Malaysiakini.
Najib was instead seen taking a seat on a chair beside the dock and would not move into the dock even after a police officer on-duty politely asked him to do so.
Najib would not budge from his chair despite the court policemen repeatedly asking him to enter the dock meant for the accused. He remained seated outside the dock while holding a handphone.
According to a report in Malaysiakini, which reported that the court policemen were seen asking Najib to move into the dock, it was Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor (SDPP) Gopal Sri Ram who first saw Najib sitting outside the dock and whispered to his Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ahmad Akram Gharib, "Why is he (Najib) sitting there?"
Akram, who is assisting lead prosecutor Gopal in the case, said that Najib being the accused should have entered the dock, but he was "being stubborn".
"At first, I did not realise that Najib was not sitting at the dock, as I was facing the judge. But Gopal Sri Ram noticed when he turned around and told me about it.
"So I told the police officer on duty to ask him (Najib) to get into the dock, and I thought he had adhered to the police officer's order.
"Only when the proceeding was almost over that I noticed that he still did not (enter the dock)," DPP Akram was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
According to DPP Akram, while the court police could have taken action to force Najib to sit in the dock, they decided not to stir up a fuss as it was a matter of courtesy and the proceeding was short
