KOTA BARU: Kelantan police have opened 30 investigation papers against officers of various ranks and personnel following their arrests for alleged involvement in criminal, drug abuse and corruption cases.
The officers and personnel were detained by relevant agencies, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), in a series of operations state-wide between 2014 and November this year.
Kelantan deputy police chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Abdullah Mohammad Piah said that the officers and personnel were also slapped with disciplinary action by their respective heads of department.
"Twenty of them have been suspended from their jobs for a certain period of time, while the rest are still under investigation.
"Although the number of investigation papers opened by the state contingent is small and (the cases are not serious), we (the state police) are not comfortable with the figure.
"We will ensure that the number decreases, and this is in line with the main focus of the Inspector-General of Police, which is to enhance the integrity and accountability of police officers and personnel," he told reporters.
Abdullah added that the state contingent would never compromise on cases of police officers or personnel found to be involved in wrongdoing, as this would tarnish the image of the force.
He said this after handing over eight Mitsubishi Outlander 4WDs to the state contingent and six district police stations here, today.
The vehicles, worth about RM1.12 million, will be used by traffic policemen for enforcement duties. The will be replacing Mitsubishi Pajeros and Proton Wajas which have been in use for over 15 years.
Two of the vehicles will be placed at the state contingent, while one each at six police stations – Tumpat, Pasir Mas, Machang, Kuala Krai, Gua Musang and Kota Baru.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador raised concerns recently about disciplinary monitoring in the force.
A proposal to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) has been met with reservations by the force, as was reflected in a letter by Abdul Hamid dated Nov 20 on the force’s feedback to the parliamentary Select Committee tasked with reviewing the IPCMC Bill.
One of the recommendations by the police is to review Clause 33(1) of the bill, which provides power to the IPCMC to demote and dismiss policemen.