Najib spent US$130,625 on a luxury watch for his wife’s birthday gift in 2014.
He also insisted all the expenditure was done with discretion and for diplomatic purposes.
“As I have stated earlier, I believe I retain full discretion on how to spend the funds in my account.
“I felt that the purchase we made at De Grisigino is allowed from a diplomatic point of view,” he said to the court today (Monday).
When asked to explain the spending spree at luxury stores in Hawaii and Sardinia, Italy, using funds allegedly from the state-owned SRC International Bhd, he insists they were funds in his account and they were donations.
He said he later paid off the purchases using the disputed funds in his bank account and they were intended for his wife Rosmah Mansor.
The watch was purchased at a Chanel boutique in Honolulu, US, on Dec 22,2014 and was intended for his wife’s birthday.
“The purchase at Chanel in Honolulu was a watch that I bought as a gift for my wife’s birthday in December, ” he says.
The other transaction was RM127,017.46 at Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok in January 2015, which he says covered his stay as well as that of the supporting staff that accompanied him. He also spoke of unexpected expenses and required expenses throughout the trip.
“Regarding the Shangri-La transaction, just after my trip to Kota Bharu to check on the flood situation there, I continued my private vacation in Bangkok, Thailand where I flew straight from Kota Bharu.
“Although this was a private trip, I took the opportunity to meet with my Thai counterpart, (Thailand’s Prime Minister) Prayut Chan-o-cha, to discuss on how the Thai government would be able to help us with the bad flood situation, ” he said.
“It is within my right to claim the expenses from the government considering that I worked on my trip.
“However, I chose to bear the expenses because I didn’t want to complicate matters and I exercised my discretion, ” he said. -/TISG