'Jho Low's name not viewable on Interpol as his crime's not life-threatening'

The name of fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (or Jho Low) is not available for public viewing on Interpol's red notice website as his crime is not deemed a threat to life or public safety, said a senior police source.

He, however, assured that the Royal Malaysian Police is taking all efforts to track down Low and bring him back to face justice.

"There are two types of Interpol red notices. One lists down criminals wanted for crimes who are a threat to life and public safety, such as terrorism, murder, robbery, and drug-related crimes. The list is published on the Interpol red notice website and is available for public viewing.

"The second list is of white-collar criminals - those who commit crimes that are not detrimental to public safety. This list is only accessible by law enforcement in 195 Interpol member states," the senior police officer told Malaysiakini.

By saying so, the officer, who refused to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the press on the issue, reiterated the stance of Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani on the issue last month.

Acryl mentioned that the police have pressed 13 charges against Low in absentia and obtained an Interpol red notice against him in 2018.

While Interpol’s 195 member states have an obligation to pass on information on the whereabouts of wanted persons with red notices against them, to facilitate extradition, no such request could be made against Low because no Interpol member was able to confirm his supposed whereabouts in their country, the top cop stressed.

'Wrong name given?'

The officer was replying to a comment by Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng earlier today that Low's name was not listed on Interpol's red notice website.

"Could the Malaysian government have given Interpol another name for Low, or a wrong name was given?" the DAP lawmaker asked.

Lim was responding to Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin's written reply in Parliament that the Interpol red notice is the police's preferred method to track down Low, who has been on the run since 2018.

The method was better, Hamzah said, as it involved inter-jurisdictional cooperation and intelligence-sharing, compared to the reward approach Lim suggested.

Previously, former Wall Street Journal reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope claimed they received many tip-offs suggesting that Low had been laying low in China in recent years.

Among others, they claimed Low had been photographed at Disneyland, Shanghai, in 2019, and that his wife Jesselynn Chuan Teik Ying applied to join the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club sometime in 2018.

Malaysiakini is unable to independently verify these claims.

Wright and Hope are running a crowdsourcing campaign in the hopes of locating Low following the jailing of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak on Aug 23. - Mkini