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KUALA LUMPUR – Police have vehemently denied allegations in a police report accusing investigators of absconding with almost RM600,000 said to belong to a face mask salesman in an incident in Seremban last year.
Negri Sembilan police chief Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusop told The Vibes that police deny all the accusations detailed within the report and that a counter report claiming defamation has since been lodged against whistle-blower social media account Edisi Khas/Edisi Siasat.
“This is not true. Our side has made a counter report and investigations will be conducted under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation.
“A report has been lodged against the person who shared and posted the details of the report in the media, the Edisi Khas/Edisi Siasat account,” he said when contacted.
The allegations against police were filed by a 19-year-old businessman on May 14 last year at the Jalan Campbell police station in Negri Sembilan.
The businessman claimed the episode started when he was arrested on May 5 along with his supervisor and a bag of cash containing RM1,142,369 said to be proceeds from the sales of face masks.
The complainant alleged that upon his release from remand several days later, the bag of cash that was returned to him only contained RM547,153 instead of the full amount.
He also alleged that he was assaulted on two separate occasions by police on May 9 and May 10, just days after his release, with the aggressors apparently forcing him to admit to being part of a counterfeit cigarette syndicate.
The report then detailed how following the assault, the complainant, his supervisor, and a third colleague were escorted by police to two separate houses in unknown locations, where they were allegedly forced to load up several lorries with what appeared to be confiscated cartons of cigarettes.
Despite details on the report stating it was lodged last year, whistle-blower Edisi Khas shared a copy of the police report on Wednesday, January 12.
When asked, Mohamad told The Vibes how the case actually concerned a raid conducted by police on May 8 last year, days after the complainant was supposedly released from detention.
In the raid, police had seized RM1.7 million worth of counterfeit cigarettes from four districts within Negri Sembilan, while arresting a total of 11 men.
Mohamad, in a statement last May, had said the raid also yielded RM547,153 in cash, the exact same amount stated in the businessman’s report, along with 474 boxes containing 23,700 cartons of cigarettes.
“All the money or property seized had been forfeited under the Anti Money-Laundering Act,” Mohamad clarified today. – The Vibes, January 12, 2022
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