KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — A vehicle believed to be carrying former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak returned to Kajang Prison tonight, hours after his earlier departure had sparked expectations that he would be transferred to house arrest.

The development brought an abrupt end to a day of uncertainty surrounding Najib’s expected release from prison, with media personnel and security officers gathering outside his Jalan Langgak Duta residence in anticipation of his arrival.

Najib, 73, had left Kajang Prison at about 2.37pm accompanied by several escort vehicles, shortly after his lawyers delivered a High Court order allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

However, the AGC subsequently announced that the implementation of the house arrest arrangement should be temporarily postponed pending legal clarification over the conditional royal pardon granted to Najib and the effect of the court order.