Judge bars media from covering trial of cop accused of extortion

The media was asked to leave the Magistrate’s Court in Shah Alam as the charges against a policeman were said to be ‘sensitive’.

SHAH ALAM: The media was barred from covering a trial involving a cop accused of falsifying documents in a drug case related to him after the courtroom was asked to be vacated at the Magistrate’s Court here today.

The unnamed policeman is one of the individuals who was previously accused of arresting young men in Sungai Buloh to extort their family members.

Before the hearing began, deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Nur Syazwanie said the charges that were to be read against the officer were sensitive and should not be reported by the media.

Magistrate Hanie Dzatul Akhmar Zulkefli then instructed everyone who was not related to the case to leave the courtroom, before proceeding with the case.

Once the hearing ended, reporters were informed by a DPP who did not want to be named that the case would be adjourned to March, although he did not state the specific date.

He also said that the accused no longer had a lawyer to represent him and was released on RM5,000 bail today.

FMT is getting a response from Selangor CID chief Fadzil Ahmat.

On Jan 15, Selangor police said they were handing over investigations into claims that their officers had extorted residents in Kampung Sungai Buloh to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Prior to that, a representative of the residents there had made a report to the MACC alleging that several cops were arresting young men in the village to extort their families.

Wanting only to be known as Iwan, he claimed that the group of officers from “Narco Subang” had been carrying out operations every Friday since last year, arresting young men in his village.

He added that some family members were forced to pay up to RM27,000 to free the men and to avoid having them charged in court. - FMT