Four Corners crew avoid charges

An ABC journalist and cameraman have been told they will not be charged over an incident with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, only hours after they were told to face court.

Four Corners reporter Linton Besser and cameraman Louie Eroglu had questioned Mr Najib during a public event in Kuching over a corruption scandal, and police had claimed they had crossed a security cordon — an allegation they deny.

Last night, Besser and Eroglu were told they would likely be charged with obstructing a public servant in the discharge of their duties.

If they were found guilty of the charge they could have faced two years in prison.

But three hours after the pair were given the order to appear in court on Tuesday morning, their lawyer was called by police and told no charges would be filed and they may be able to leave the country this morning after some paperwork.

Besser questioned Mr Razak as he walked into a mosque on Saturday night, asking the Prime Minister why hundreds of millions of dollars had been deposited into his bank account.

The pair were surrounded by the Prime Minister's security team and then allowed to leave, before later being arrested and questioned for six hours in a police station.

Their passports were taken and later returned, but they were told not to leave the country while their case was investigated.

Yesterday the lawyer for the ABC pair, Albert Tang, said he received a call from Ng Ahlek, the superintendent of police for Malaysia's Padawan District, telling him to bring his clients to court at 8:30am (local time) so they could be charged.

"When asked who made the decision to institute the charge against my clients, he said it was the Attorney-General who made the decision," Mr Tang said on Monday.

Mr Tang said normally those decisions were made by a local deputy public prosecutor.

"I suppose this is being regarded as a high-profile case, that is why the Attorney-General himself is making the decision," he said.