KUALA LUMPUR – Less than 2% of police officers have disciplinary issues, including criminal involvement, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said.
Out of 137,000 personnel, this means “only a handful” of officers are problematic, and the public need not be alarmed, he told Bernama.
The public can trust the police force to conduct transparent investigations into criminal cases involving its own personnel, he added.
“Of the 137,000 personnel, not even 2% are involved in disciplinary offenses or criminal involvement due to the vigilant supervision by superior officers.
“As an example, 15 minutes before going on duty there is a comprehensive ‘roll call’ briefing by the supervisors, which includes the proper use of firearms,” he told the national news agency.
His remarks come amid a fresh wave of criminal cases involving the arrests of police officers as suspects.
A recent case involves a constable and a lance corporal suspected of rape and robbery involving private college students in Bukit Ampang View last Tuesday.
The two officers, in their 20s and 30s, have been suspended pending completion of investigations, Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said yesterday.
Another fresh incident involves allegations that a police station chief in Sri Gading, Johor, assaulted a member of the public as captured in a video clip that has gone viral.
The person alleged to be the station chief is seen yelling and repeatedly slapping and pulling a man’s hair.
Earlier this month, four policemen were arrested in Kuala Lumpur for possessing ketum juice.
In October last year, in Kelantan, another four policemen were detained on suspicion of supplying ketum juice and tobacco to detainees in the Kota Bharu court lock-up.
In December, a senior police officer with the rank of deputy superintendent was charged with the murder of 17-year-old student Muhammad Zaharif Affendi Muhd Zamrie in Ipoh.
This case angered the public as the officer, Mohd Nazri Abdul Razak, was alleged to have tailed the teen who was riding his motorcycle after school before ramming into him.
Razarudin, in his interview with Bernama, said every police officer had taken a pledge to stay clear of drugs and criminal activities. He acknowledged that some will still make mistakes.
He assured that the police force maintains its stance to never compromise with officers involved in criminal activities.
Urging the public to fully place their trust in the police, he said officers took immediate action in the case of teenager Zaharif’s fatal hit-and-run.
“We did not compromise or conceal the matter, we charged him (Nazri) under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder,” Razarudin said. – January 13, 2024