By Sylvia Looi

Scenes of sexual acts usually seen in pornographic videos were shown in a rather unlikely 'theatre' on Tuesday - the Ipoh Sessions Court.

Footage showing two men having sex with Chinese women in an apartment in Batu Feringgi, Penang was screened in the middle of a corruption trial.

The sordid show however, was limited to a very restricted 'audience' - just the judge and the lawyers involved in the case of three men charged with corruption.

The trio charged are former Perak Tengah district councillor Zul Hassan, 45, businessman Fairul Azrim Ismail, 31 and Perak Development Corporation technician Ruslan Sahat.

They are alleged to have had sex with three women from China after falling into a trap set up by an agent provocateur. However, only Zul and Ruslan were said to have been caught on camera.

Sessions judge Azhaniz Teh Azman Teh ruled for court be cleared before the clip could be viewed after an application was made by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) head of prosecution Datuk Abdul Razak Musa.

He said the request was to save the accused from embarrassment.

Defence lawyer Surjan Singh objected to the application, saying that the matter had received wide media coverage.

"Why do it in camera now? If you want to dance, dance properly," he said prompting the judge to ask the defence lawyers to confirm the matter with their clients.

The accused, however, agreed with the judge's decision to clear the court.

Earlier, the court was told that the sexual acts were committed at the apartment in Batu Feringgi, Penang.

Businessman Mohamad Imran Abdullah, 34, who acted as an agent provocateur for MACC, made the recordings using pinhole cameras placed in rooms used by Zul and Ruslan.

Lawyers who viewed the footages confirmed that it showed the men performing various sexual acts with the women.

Zul, Fairul Azrim and Ruslan are jointly charged with former PKR exco members Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, 57, and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi, 52 and former Perak Tengah district councillor Usaili Alias, 56 with corruption over a proposed multi-million ringgit development project in Seri Iskandar.

The offences were allegedly committed by them to help Mohamad Imran win the project.

The charges against Ruslan were dropped following his death in August.

Besides recordings of the sexual acts, the court was also shown footages of how Mohamad Imran wanted to hand over money to Mohd Osman and Jamaluddin on separate occasions but was asked to hand give the money to Usaili instead.

When court sat Tuesday morning, lawyer for Mohd Osman and Jamaluddin Mohd Roni Abdul Rahman produced a letter from assembly secretary Zamari Mohd Ramli urging them to attend the state assembly sitting from Oct 28 to Oct 30.

"As such, my clients request for an adjournment of the case on those days," he said.

The judge allowed the application.

Hearing continues Wednesday. Mohamad Imran is expected to be cross-examined by defence lawyers. -The Daily Chilli