IPOH: Perak police today denied that the 44-year-old senior police officer who was charged with the murder of a 17-year-old student today received 'special treatment' from the police force.
Deputy Perak police chief Datuk Azizi Mat Aris stressed that it was a normal procedure considering the public interest of the case involving the accused.
"Just like what IGP (Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain) said, we must be thorough and transparent.
"The accused has been charged in court today under Section 302 of the Penal Code and he is currently at the Taiping Prison until the trial begins.
"There was strict control in court to maintain order there. There is no issue of double standards and we treated the accused just like other offenders.
"The security controls in terms of escort, how we bring the accused to the police station and court, that is a normal procedure," he said.
Asked if such procedures were only practised for a high-profile case, Azizi said that such a case was not a high profile case but it caught public attention and thus, high-security controls was needed.
Earlier, the senior police officer with the rank of deputy superintendent was charged in the magistrate's court here today for the murder of the student.
However, no plea was recorded from Mohd Nazri Abdul Razak, 44, after the charge was read out before Magistrate S. Punitha as the case comes under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
However, members of the media were left perplexed by the alleged "special treatment" accorded to Mohd Nazri.
Journalists, who had packed the Ipoh Magistrate's Court compound since 7.30am to snap photos and videos of the accused, were surprised when Mohd Nazri was not taken via the usual route taken by those brought to court.
Despite waiting for hours for a photo or video opportunity at the court entrance, photographers were left disappointed when Mohd Nazri was produced at 9am in court via another route, avoiding the media scrum.