Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that he would handcuff Jho Low, after being asked what he would do if he found himself in the same room as the fugitive businessperson.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, he also described Low – who has managed to evade authorities using multiple passports – as "slippery" and a "crook".

However, Mahathir could not confirm if the Penang-born businessperson was in China as previously suggested in a Wall Street Journal report.

"I didn’t ask (the Chinese government) anything about Jho Low. I think he is probably in China, probably, (but) I can't prove it.

"This man is very slippery, I am told that he has many passports. Like all crooks, he has passports and can travel anywhere.

"But he can't use his (superyacht) Equanimity now. If he wants to claim it as his, please come to Malaysia and make a claim in the Malaysian courts," he added.

When asked what he would do if Low was sitting next to him, Mahathir quipped, “I will put a handcuff on him”.

In June, the MACC issued an arrest warrant for Low for his involvement in the 1MDB affair. 

Low, albeit through an Australian public relations firm, previously said that he will not be turning himself in because there was no jurisdiction where he would get a fair hearing.

"To reiterate: Low will not submit to any jurisdiction where guilt has been predetermined by politics and self-interest overrules the legal process," the firm had said.

The US Department of Justice has accused Low of being at the heart of a massive scam to defraud 1MDB, which borrowed RM42 billion for investments but had little to show in return.

Meanwhile, the Equanimity, which Low purportedly bought using 1MDB money, is presently docked in Port Klang after Indonesian authorities handed it over to Malaysia earlier this month. 

Low had described the yacht seizure as "illegitimate" and accused Mahathir of "hijacking" legal proceedings by other jurisdictions. 

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