According to a foreign reporter who declined to be identified, the incident occurred during a commotion as Najib was entering the main door of the court complex.

“It happened to a few others (also) when we were trying to take photographs of Najib.

“Two other reporters and two photographers were also injured,” he told Bernama.

According to him, a female reporter went to a nearby hospital to seek treatment after she suffered a nosebleed during the scuffle.

Media personnel covering Najib’s court case at the KL Courts Complex have been asked to observe the rules and obey police’s instructions.

City police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said this was because the area is a restricted zone and there are rules that must be followed.

He urged media personnel and the public not to do anything that violated the rules.

“I hope they (media personnel) will obey police’s instructions and not be in areas prohibited by the courts,” he told Bernama.

Asked about the level of security at the complex, Mazlan said police had the situation under control and that adequate manpower was being provided for the task.

The Star reported that police officers from the canine unit were seen inspecting the car park and courts complex at about 7am.

Officers were also seen using metal detectors on nearby plant pots and garbage bins.

Najib was charged with one count of abuse of power to receive a a RM42mil bribe to allow pension fund KWAP to give a RM4bil loan to SRC International.

He was also charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT).

SRC International was a subsidiary of 1MDB until it was placed under the jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry in 2012.

“QT”, who entered into a civil partnership in Britain in 2011 and moved to Hong Kong with her partner the same year, was backed by major financial institutions in her fight for visa rights in the economic powerhouse.

The Court of Final Appeal ended the protracted legal battle by ruling that it was “counter-productive” to limit dependant work rights to straight couples.

“The ability to bring in dependants is an important issue for persons deciding whether to move to Hong Kong,” the court said.

It said employment visas are granted because someone “has the talent or skills deemed needed or desirable. Such a person could be straight or gay”.

Hong Kong does not currently recognise gay marriage or same-sex civil unions.

QT’s lawyer Michael Vidler said the verdict marked the first time the city’s highest court has ruled in relation to the rights of same-sex couples.

“Hopefully it will pave the way to change” and to the recognition of same-sex marriage, he said.

Top financial institutions including Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have publicly supported QT, saying diverse hiring practices are crucial to attracting and retaining top talent.

In a statement delivered by her lawyer after the verdict, QT said she felt “joy” in the court’s decision “and knowing that I have in some small part helped advance the rights of LGBTI people in Hong Kong”.

She accused the government of treating her “like many thousands of other lesbian and gay people in Hong Kong, like a second class citizen because of my sexual orientation”.

Denied a dependant visa when she moved to Hong Kong after her partner got a job in the city, QT was forced to stay on as a visitor without the right to work.

In September last year she won her case at the Court of Appeal, which ruled immigration authorities had “failed to justify the indirect discrimination on account of sexual orientation that QT suffers”.

But that decision was challenged by the government and taken to the city’s highest court, in what critics said was a disappointing backwards step.

A security guard stands at an entrance to the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on July 4, 2018. A British lesbian won the right to live and work in Hong Kong with her partner in a landmark decision on July 4 by the top court in the city, where same-sex unions are not recognised. // AFP PHOTO 

– A ‘milestone’ –

During the case, Dinah Rose, representing QT, argued the couple have a “public, registered” and legal bond which is not recognised in Hong Kong and are therefore “placed in a significant disadvantage” compared to straight couples.

David Pannick, representing the government, told the court “marriage creates a status” which in itself justified different treatment for same-sex couples and heterosexual couples.

Hong Kong’s first openly gay lawmaker Ray Chan hailed Wednesday’s ruling as a “milestone”.

“The LGBT community, with myself included, is elated today over the Court of Final Appeal’s judgement,” said Chan, a pro-democracy politician.

“(They) should not be burdened with going through laborious legal and political processes to seek the rights that they should already enjoy as human beings,” Chan added.

Amnesty International urged the government to “swiftly introduce comprehensive legislation against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status” in a statement following the verdict.

When the constitutional court in neighbouring Taiwan ruled in favour of allowing gay marriage last May, campaigners in socially conservative Hong Kong highlighted the city’s lack of progress on equality issues.

Hong Kong only decriminalised homosexuality in 1991 and while LGBT groups have become more prominent in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, conservative activists have also launched anti-rights campaigns.

Public libraries have recently hidden away LGBT-themed children’s books in request only closed-off areas after pressure from conservative campaigners, sparking outrage among the LGBT community and supporters.

However, there are other signs that attitudes are changing.

A study published by the centre for comparative and public law at the University of Hong Kong on Tuesday said 50.4 percent of people expressed support for same-sex marriage last year, up from 38 percent in 2013.

John Volanthen was placing guidelines in an attempt to get closer to the missing team in the flooded cave network when he found the boys.

As he came to the water’s surface, “there they were, all 13, staring at him through the light of his headlamp,” according to the Times.

If his line had been even 15 feet shorter, he would have turned back and not reached them on that Monday night dive. The group would have spent at least another night on its own in the pitch black, not knowing if a rescue would ever come.

“Literally, he finished his line, stuck the line reel in the mud, and they were looking down,” Vernon Unsworth, his friend and fellow cave explorer, said on Tuesday.

With the search officially turning to a rescue operation on Tuesday, the main questions now have been the best way, and the best time, to get the boys and their coach out of the cave.

The three British cave diving experts have been praised across Thailand and the world for using their expertise to aid in the discovery of the missing team trapped in one of the longest caves in Thailand after a flash flood hit their exit.

The mission was considered a mission impossible considering the fact that there were no detailed maps and the cave was under heavy floods.

A scrum of journalists greeted Najib, 64, as he became the first ex-premier in Malaysia to appear in front of a judge.

A tired-looking Najib was escorted by around 20 police officers into a courtroom where security was tight, less than a day after he was arrested at his luxury home by officers probing how billions of dollars of state funds disappeared on his watch.

The arrest is the latest in a series of stunning moves by investigators that suggest the legal noose is tightening around Najib, his family and many of his close political and business allies.

Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama said the former premier is expected to face more than 10 counts of committing criminal breach of trust linked to SRC International Sdn Bhd, an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1MDB, which Najib founded.

“Najib is the first (former) prime minister ever to be charged in court in the history of Malaysia,” said Tian Chua, vice president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, a key political party in the current ruling coalition.

“It signals a new era where no one in public office will be immune from punitive action if they abuse power,” he added.

According to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, $10.6 million originating from SRC was transferred to Najib’s personal bank accounts, a fraction of hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB that was allegedly funnelled to him.

The newly appointed attorney general Tommy Thomas will lead the prosecution team, Bernama said.

Lawyers familiar with corruption cases told AFP they expect the charges to be read to Najib and a plea would be taken. His lawyers are expected to apply for bail.

Allegations of massive corruption were a major factor behind the shock election loss in May of Najib’s long-ruling coalition to a reformist alliance headed by his former mentor Mahathir, who turns 93 next week.

A press statement issued by Najib’s camp late Tuesday said the impending charges and other investigations “are politically motivated and the result of political vengeance” under Mahathir.

It vowed that Najib “will contest these charges and clear his name in court”.

Najib and his allies are accused of plundering billions of dollars from the 1MDB to buy everything from US real estate to artworks.

Shortly after his downfall, a treasure trove of valuables was seized in raids on properties linked to Najib and his family — including cash, jewellery and luxury handbags — worth up to $273 million.

He and his luxury-loving wife Rosmah Mansor were questioned by investigators, as were his stepson Riza Aziz, whose firm produced the hit 2013 movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”, and his former deputy Zahid Hamidi.

Justo, who brought the 1MDB scandal into the global spotlight, told The Star: “I have suffered so much with my wife in exposing this Malaysian scandal, that part of us is bonded forever with Malaysia!”

Najib will be charged in court on Wednesday morning, following his arrest on Tuesday (July 3) at his Jalan Langgak Duta residence in Kuala Lumpur.

Justo added that the arrest marked a great day for Malaysia and for justice.

The former Petrosaudi International executive implicated PetroSaudi owner Tarek Obaid and its chief investment officer Patrick Mahony.

According to him, it will only be over for the Justo family when all the culprits are in jail.

“It’s not the end, but an extraordinary day to celebrate!” said Justo.

Previously, Justo had pledged to continue to help Malaysia in any way possible, including testifying in trials here.

He also returned to Malaysia for the third time on June 26 to help with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investigation.

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Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) sources confirmed the arrest. “Wait for our statement,” the source said.

Najib will be charged in court on Wednesday morning, following his arrest on Tuesday (July 3).

MACC said that Najib will be taken to the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex to face charges at 8.30am.

The MACC, however, did not specify the charges he will face.

“The 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB) taskforce has confirmed that the arrest against Najib at 2.35pm today is related to the SRC International Sdn Bhd investigations,” said the MACC in a statement.

The arrest was made at Najib’s residence at Jalan Langgak Duta, Kuala Lumpur.

It is learnt that Najib is being taken to the MACC headquarters now and his family lawyers said he could be charged tomorrow (July 4).

At a book launch event earlier, MACC chief commissioner Shukri Abdull was asked when Najib would be charged.

However, he just chuckled and said, “I believe you have to ask the Attorney General about that”.

While the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 stipulates that the marriage of non-Muslim children below 16 years of age cannot be legally approved, its president George Varughese pointed out that Muslim children are permitted under Syariah law to be legally married under the discretion of a Syariah courts judge.

This legislation is in pursuant to the Islamic family law enactment of the respective state, Varughese said in a statement issued Monday (July 2).

“The Malaysian Bar therefore calls on the Government to review all relevant laws relating to child marriage accordingly.

“In this connection, the Malaysian Bar also calls on the government to form a Child Commission, to be headed by a Child Commissioner who shall report directly to Parliament, with the powers to address the issue of child marriage and all other issues pertaining to children in Malaysia, such as the inadequacies in the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, the lack of care and treatment of children in the juvenile justice system, and the lack of a system of accountability for the various agencies dealing with children’s issues.”

According to Varughese, the Government bears a critical obligation and duty to ensure the healthy development and protection of all children in Malaysia, pursuant to Malaysia’s accession of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

“According to the Child Act 2001, which was enacted to fulfil Malaysia’s obligations under the CRC, a child is defined as a person under the age of 18 years.”

According to Varughese, 10,240 Muslims had applied for child marriages to the Syariah courts between 2005 and 2015.

Among non-Muslims, Varughese said the figure stood at 7,719 marriage applications between 2000 and 2014 for girls between 16 and 18 years old.

“These alarming statistics are unacceptable and should serve as a wake-up call as to the gravity of the issue.

“All matters and decisions taken concerning a child must bear the child’s best interest as paramount,” he added.