The Malaysian police force has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for all the wrong reasons.
There have been several cases this month in which the men in blue were nabbed for various criminal activities, such as kidnapping, bribery, sexual assault and extortion.
At the same time, it has also emerged that six anti-narcotics enforcers from the state of Selangor were arrested over several days since late last week on suspicion of being on the payroll of a major drug ring that was crippled last week when RM36 million (S$12.4 million) worth of methamphetamine was seized.
On April 1, two police constables were detained by the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Johor, after soliciting a RM300 bribe from a man who allegedly committed a traffic offence.
A day later, four policemen from federal police headquarters Bukit Aman joined three accomplices in an attempt to extort money from a sundry shop worker in the state of Pahang. All seven, aged between 29 and 35, were detained by the police.
On April 10, a married corporal was detained after he sexually assaulted three teenagers who were being held for rioting at a detention centre in Jinjang, Selangor. He was charged for gross indecency.
On April 14, two policemen were suspended from their duties after they released a man who allegedly raped a four-year-old girl.
Two days later, four policemen and a woman constable were detained by the MACC for allegedly accepting money from a man who wanted to settle a car theft case in Penang.
On April 23, a police constable, who was recently dismissed, tried to pass himself off as still being in the force before he was caught by police patrolling the area, where he was holding a man for ransom.
Between 2010 and 2015, a total of 3,677 police personnel were arrested for alleged involvement in criminal activities.
While 521 officers were charged in court, 2,312 of them were released after investigations.
Meanwhile, sources told the Malay Mail that the six anti-narcotic enforcers — an inspector and five lance corporals — who were nabbed had collected about RM100,000 during the past six months from drug lords to close an eye to their mass production of methamphetamine.
The sources said the policemen had stumbled upon the drug operation between three and six months ago.
“We believe the six made a pact with the syndicate not to expose their activities, provided they were paid enough to keep quiet,” said one source.
Investigations are under way to determine if the policemen were also paid to tip-off the syndicate if they knew police were on their trail.
The drug bust also resulted in police seizing RM3.85 million worth of cash and vehicles.
Malaysia’s police chief Khalid Abu Bakar had said drugs totalling 239kg were seized.
“If it had hit the streets, it would have supplied about 12 million drug users,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.
Source: TODAY Online
