When reporters went to work on their usual assignments on Monday, little would they know that some of them would be treated to a mystery press conference that had the potential of rocking the country's political landscape.
Journalists from several media organisations had received a phone call from what some would say an 'over-eager' senior reporter from the English daily Star, instructing them to be at Carcosa Seri Negara hotel, Kuala Lumpur at 11.45am sharp.
“It's huge and explosive!” claimed the caller who had contacted Malaysiakini's reporter with the invitation.
A man identifying himself as 'Datuk T' then showed up at the appointed venue to screen a video to the privileged journalists in batches depicting a hidden camera footage of a man - later suggested to resemble PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim - at a spa having sex with one he claimed was a Chinese prostitute.
And the rest is history.
Media agencies nationwide scrambled to run the story. However, many newsrooms (including Malaysiakini) were cautious about linking the man caught on tape to any particular individual
'Datuk T' himself was careful about revealing the name, constantly referring to the man in the video as 'si fulan' (Arabic for 'unknown person'), and not making any aspersions.
But with the secrecy surrounding the screening, it was clear that the man in the video was a national figure. Reporters who viewed the video felt an uncanny resemblance of main subject to Anwar.
Save for the protagonist's protruding gut, one top editor with the mainstream media was overheard saying that he was “200 percent” sure of the man's identity.
It was actually only when, in a knee-jerk reaction no less, PKR leaders scrambled to Anwar's defence - calling the video 'doctored' and another conspiracy to ensure the opposition leader's downfall once and for all - that the target of the video was confirmed.
“BN must be getting really desperate. Do they think they can destroy (Anwar) and Pakatan with faked videos?” tweeted PKR Subang MP from R Sivarasa, soon after the video was screened.
Video reaches PKR's eyes
A few hours later, Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul - one of Anwar's staunchest supporters - was called by his uncle Shuib Lazim, an ex senator, to view the footage at Flamingo Hotel in Kuala Lumpur at 4pm.
That was where he also met former Malacca chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik (right) and businessman Shazryl Eskay Abdullah in the hotel room where they all gathered for the viewing.
Johari would later expose the trio to be responsible for the video, and said the video was a ploy for BN to 'buy' MPs over.
While Rahim would later confess his role in the video - he however refuted Johari's claims of trying to engineer the defections. Rahim also said Johari was the one who had demanded for money.
Meanwhile at about 8pm, the trio also showed the video to PKR'sBadrul Hisham Shaharin - Anwar's nephew and popularly known as 'Chegubard' - at the Shangri-La hotel.
On the same day, PKR and Anwar himself sprang into action with a press conference denying his involvement in the filmed act.
Held at 5pm to packed press, Anwar appeared with his wife and party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and eldest daughter and party vice-president Nurul Izzah by his side, and flanked by the top PKR leadership.
Police reports and PCs galore
From then on, the sex video caper snowballed into a flurry of police reports and press conferences.
Anwar and his wife lodged a police report at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters first thing Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, Johari contacted Shuib again to arrange for another viewing, but this time with a larger group of PKR MPs.
All of them showed up at Flamingo Hotel in the evening hoping to watch the video. However, for reasons unknown, Rahim decided to call the screening off.
By night, several pro-Pakatan blogs started speculating on the identity of 'Datuk T', that until then had remained secret.
On Wednesday noon, Johari held a press conference to expose the identities of the trio, later confirmed by Rahim and Shazryl Eskay themselves in a separate press conference three hours later.
On Thursday, the police moved in to begin their investigations,taking statements from both Rahim and Shazryl Eskay. The two spent close to five hours at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman.
Finally, yesterday Mohamad Mahti Abdul Rahim, a retired policeman and former bodyguard to a top minister, put together another piece of the puzzle, claiming that Shazryl Eskay has long borne a grudge against Anwar for refusing to testify for him in a recent lawsuit.
Stay tuned. This is only the beginning.