A lawyer for a group of Chinese nationals, who claim to have been threatened and robbed by police officers during a raid in Kajang, Selangor, has questioned the lack of charges against those involved.
The lawyer, identified only as Charles by the New Straits Times, highlighted that in addition to providing their statements, the victims have also identified several officers allegedly involved in the incident.
Warning that the handling of the case could be referred to the graft busters for further probes, Charles asserted that he has yet to receive any updates on the case, despite a police report lodged by the victims two weeks ago.
He added that he will formally contact the investigating officer at the Kajang police headquarters as well as the Attorney-General’s Chambers to seek clarification on the investigation.
“If even that does not yield any results, I may forward the case to the MACC.
“The last I heard was that the suspects have been granted police bail after their extended remand expired. That’s all,” he said.
Malaysiakini has reached out to the Selangor police for a response to the lawyer’s remarks.
Yesterday, Selangor police chief Shazeli Kahar said 12 police personnel were detained to assist investigations after a report was received on Feb 6.
He said the report, which concerned an alleged robbery incident involving cryptocurrency losses, is being probed under Sections 395 and 397 of the Penal Code for gang robbery and aggravated robbery.
While Shazeli assured that police would not compromise with any of its personnel found to be involved in criminal activities or misconduct, his statement did not clarify whether any internal action had been taken against the officers.
Earlier, the 12 officers were reportedly picked up in a series of coordinated arrests by a special team from the district police headquarters, which included four officers from Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department.
Among those detained were an assistant superintendent of police, one inspector, one sergeant, six corporals, two lance corporals, and one constable, all aged between 24 and 47.
Alleged forced crypto transfer
The arrests followed a police report lodged by a 31-year-old Chinese market surveyor, who claimed that he and seven friends were forced to transfer about RM200,000 in cryptocurrency to secure their release after their rented bungalow in a gated community in Country Heights was raided.
A team of officers from the district’s commercial crime unit reportedly raided the double-storey bungalow the night of Feb 5 after suspecting the occupants were involved in online fraud linked to a Cambodian syndicate.
“After inspecting their electronic devices and passports, no evidence of criminal activity was found.
“There was also no record of the complainant and his friends travelling to Cambodia,” a source reportedly said.
While the group was said to have told police they were market surveyors employed by a China-based company, they were allegedly threatened with arrest and immigration action unless they paid the raiding party RM400,000.
Due to safety concerns, particularly as there were three women in the group, one of the victims contacted his employer in China.
Following negotiations, the suspects allegedly agreed to a sum of 50,000 units of the Tether cryptocurrency, which was transferred to a cryptocurrency wallet address provided by the suspects, who ostensibly only left the premises after receiving confirmation of the transaction.
Before departing, the police personnel involved also allegedly warned the group to vacate the house within two days or face “further action”.
Committed to assisting probe
Commenting on the matter, Charles said his clients, aged between 25 and 45, had entered Malaysia between Jan 27 and Jan 30 at the invitation of a local company to “explore business opportunities and conduct market surveys”.
He reportedly said all eight had returned to Shandong in China to celebrate the Chinese New Year with their families.
Affirming that his clients remain committed to assisting police investigations, he added that the group is expected to return to Malaysia in mid-March to “resume and complete their task”.
He further disclosed that the three women in the group have moved out of the Country Heights home due to safety concerns, and now live closer to the Chinese embassy. - Mkini
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