KUALA LUMPUR: Police have denied they had intimidated PKR Deputy President Rafizi Ramli while his statement was being taken at the Sentul district police headquarters on Saturday.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the confiscation of the former Pandan Member of Parliament's mobile phone is part of the investigation process and has nothing to do with intimidation.
"As part of police procedures, a mobile phone and a sim card, believed to be the one used to upload the alleged defamatory material on social media, was seized from him for the digital forensics analysis process. It is not an act of intimidation," he said in a statement, last night.
Acryl Sani said Rafizi was summoned to the police headquarters over a video he uploaded against a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project.
"A police report had been lodged by the minister, Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad's aide for it being defamatory and he was called to assist in the investigation.
"Besides, such confiscation for digital forensics analysis is a common police process when investigating offences under the Penal Code and under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998," Acryl Sani said.
He also confirmed that police have recorded Abdul Latiff's statement, following the police report on the matter.
Earlier yesterday, PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim urged the police to stop pressuring party deputy president Rafizi for his revelations involving the LCS project scandal and for linking it to Latiff.
Anwar had described the confiscation of Rafizi's mobile phone during the police statement taking process at IPD Sentul as being excessive.
He had also said that police should be transparent and fair to investigate Latiff too, since there were also reports against him.