There should be no compromise or sympathy shown to the police station chief and his three colleagues who were arrested earlier this week for having an alcohol-fuelled wild party inside a police station in the Kajang district, complete with women, booze and ketum juice.
Their lack of respect and blatant disregard for the law and the uniform they wear couldn’t have come at a worse time – right when the police force is facing a public trust deficit.
And there should be no room for such officers in the force, said Twentytwo13’s Pearl Lee, in her latest column in Malay language news website, Getaran.
In the 6pm raid on the police station on Tuesday, Bukit Aman’s Integrity and Standards Compliance Department seized a bottle of alcohol, five bottles of ketum juice, and a picture of one of the police personnel and one of the women involved, in an allegedly compromising position.
Four women aged between 21 and 37 were also nabbed while singing karaoke and consuming alcohol in a dark room lit with rotating lights on the second floor of the police station.
It was later revealed that the police station chief tested positive for ganja and had been suspended.
“What more can be said when cops are involved in misconduct and criminal activities in their own police station,” asked Pearl.
“The issue is not just about breaching Covid-19 standard operating procedures. The fact was that the station chief was caught partying with his men and women in a police station – a supposedly secure and restricted area. Ketum juice was found in the station, and this is an offence under the Poisons Act 1952,” she added.
Other questions were also raised. Among them:
- Has this secret room been used before, for similar activities?
- How many civilians have to date entered the premises to indulge in similar activities?
- What is the background of these civilians? Do they work for any groups or crime syndicates?
- Can the movement of these civilians in the station be tracked through closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs)?
Perhaps the biggest concern is the possible breaches in operational security, said Pearl.
It was barely a few months ago that Pearl wrote about the image of the police force suffering a beating due to the rising number of its officers being involved in crime, including corruption, drugs, involvement with gangs and syndicates.
Pearl said the action of these bad apples continues to mar the image of the force, including those who have served the nation with integrity over the years.
To read the column, visit Getaran.my.
