Bersatu man's drug offence cover-up claim - what do lawyers say?

Almost a month has passed since police raided a condominium in Puchong where a Bersatu assemblyperson was arrested for suspected drug abuse with speculations made about an alleged cover-up by the authorities.

Police have maintained that this is untrue and stressed that it is normal for the final pathology test in such cases to take a few months.

Lawyers who have dealt with similar drug cases and with whom Malaysiakini spoke to agreed that the test results could take up to months to complete.

Malaysian Bar president Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor (below) said the usual timeline from the date of the arrest until the charging in court ranges from one to two months depending on the districts.

He said this is because the police would have to wait for a pathology report which would take some time before submitting their investigation paper to the state prosecution director who will decide whether to charge the person or not.

The reports, including the pathology report, are needed for the deputy public prosecutor to weigh whether to press charges or not, he said.

Senior criminal lawyer S Selvam noted that it has been a practice of the cops to wait for up to three months for a pathology report.

"Once the (suspect) is arrested and tested positive for illegal drugs, (the suspect) will be released on police bail," he said.

The police will wait for a pathology report before submitting their investigation paper to the deputy public prosecutor, he said.

He, however, said it was an entirely different story for the cases of illegal drug possession as less time is needed for police investigations.

In such cases, he said the police need a chemist's report to confirm the substance before they can wrap up their investigation paper and submit it to the deputy public prosecutor.

"If they were caught with an illegal substance and not charged, then it is a cover-up," he said.

Dengkil assemblyperson Adhif Syan Abdullah and four political special officers were among the 17 people arrested in a raid in Puchong on Jan 12.

After urine tests, sixteen out of the 17 were said to have been tested positive for illegal drugs.

The Star quoted sources as saying that police discovered some powdered substance believed to be party drugs. - Mkini