Ex-IGP: I was cleared ...

Former police chief Musa Hassan has denied protecting a Johor kingpin or conspiring with Attorney-General (AG) Abdul Gani Patail to frame former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) chief Ramli Yusuff.

He said the allegations are a tactic by those with an ulterior motive to create confusion.

"Ramli, the AG and I have been thoroughly investigated, and the law has cleared us. What else they are not satisfied with? These are all baseless allegations," he was quoted as saying in Chinese newspaper Oriental Daily News.

"If there is new evidence, why didn't they raise it at that time, but only show it after so long?"

English daily Star reported that Musa (left) may seek legal action against those responsible for the claims.

He was responding to aMalaysiakini report yesterday that he had conspired with Abdul Gani and the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to tamper with investigations into Johor's underworld kingpin Goh Cheng Poh aka Tengku Goh in 2007.

Informants against Goh were allegedly hunted down and coerced into changing their statements to implicate Ramli and his men, who were instructed by then deputy home minister Johari Baharum to probe Goh.

Ramli's team of investigators was then charged with fabricating evidence against Goh but was acquitted last year.

Johari was accused of corruption and was investigated by the ACA, but was eventually cleared.

Before he was cleared, Johari, in July 2007, had instructed his ministry to lodge a report against Musa for allegedly accepting RM2 million for the release of three gangsters.

After two weeks, Abdul Gani cleared Musa, claiming that the ACA had found nothing to link Musa with the allegation.