KUALA LUMPUR – The police today insisted that taking a video or photo of any officer conducting an investigation or arrest is in breach of the law if it could impact the investigation.
Criminal Investigations Department (CID) director Datuk Huzir Mohamed said that recording the police action contravenes Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
“PDRM would like to firmly say that taking videos or photographs is not a criminal offense,” he said in a statement.
“However, in the interest of the investigation, if the picture or video is shared, spread or goes viral on social media or in any other form, it can interfere in the police investigation process and is also against Act 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998,” he said.
The CID chief was referring to the arrest of Wong Yan Ke, the former president of University of Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany), who had tried to record plainclothes officers while they were conducting a search at the home of Umany’s current president Yap Wen Qing.
Yap was being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for his post on Umany’s Facebook page titled “YDPA should not interfere in national affairs”.
The police reportedly did not produce any search warrant.
Wong then arrived there with a woman who was identified as a lawyer, and started to record the incident on his phone.
He was then arrested. Huzir said the arrest was made under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant.
He also claimed that an officer wearing a police vest had shown his identification card to Yap who refused to cooperate. The police then closed and locked Yap’s door.
Huzir also said that 41 police reports have already been lodged against Yap.
Election watchdog Bersih 2.0 had yesterday called on the police to immediately stop its investigation and “intimidation” on the two student activists.
Its steering committee condemned the move, questioning the police for only investigating the students but not Dewan Negara Speaker Tan Sri Rais Yatim, who had raised the same issue as them on Twitter on October 26.
“Bersih 2.0 condemns any action from the authorities that impedes the people from expressing their views peacefully on issues in our country. Enforcement of law to those who are merely voicing out their opinion is a form of intimidation and contradicts human rights principles.
“If raising and discussing an issue related to the constitution is regarded as legitimate for Tan Sri Rais Yatim, then the police should also immediately stop investigating Umany students,” said the committee. – The Vibes, November 10, 2020
