When policemen rape or rob, trust suffers

 

Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain reassured the public on Jan 13 that police can be trusted, following the detention of two policemen suspected of rape and extortion on Jan 9.

“Of the 137,000 personnel, not even 2% are involved in disciplinary offences or criminal cases due to vigilant supervision by their superior officers,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

The IGP could have remained silent about the case and let his officers handle it, but he chose to speak up, which speaks well of his sincerity. He has also urged Malaysians to trust the police.

I suppose several recent negative incidents involving policemen was on his mind when he decided to reassure the public that all criminal cases – including those committed by policemen – would be investigated in a transparent manner.

The rape and extortion of students by policemen – if true – is particularly disturbing and worrying.

FMT quoted Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan as saying that the two uniformed policemen had detained a foreign female student and a male Malaysian student at Bukit Ampang over a traffic offence.

One policeman is alleged to have taken the male student to a bank to withdraw money to settle the traffic offence while the other is said to have taken the girl to another location, where he allegedly raped her.

What happened to the students – if proven true – reminds me of the Malay proverb “Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi”, which means that the very person you trusted to protect or help you has betrayed you.

Members of the pubic are naturally aghast, and rightly so.

Did the perpetrators think that the teens were easy prey because they were students? Or that because the girl was a foreigner, she might not lodge a report?

Parents will wonder if it is safe for their children to follow a policeman if asked to do so. How will teachers or school counsellors handle this? What advice will they give their students?

Foreigners may fear sending their daughters to study in Malaysia.

It reminds me of another case, reported on June 24, 2008, about two policemen stopping a couple of teenagers for not possessing a motorcycle licence in Selangor.

The teenagers were questioned in separate rooms. One of the policemen allegedly threatened to jail the boy if his girlfriend did not follow his instructions. According to the report the girl had to perform oral sex and was later raped – right inside the police station.

The policeman was detained, of course.

Over the years, there have been reports of policemen being involved in sexual assault, corruption, robbery or some other criminal activity. And, of course, there have been numerous cases of detainees dying in police lock-ups.

Such news does no favours to the police force. In fact, it hurts the integrity of the vast majority of policemen.

The police force exists to maintain peace and public order, enforce laws, prevent crime and catch criminals. In short, the police force is tasked with protecting citizens.

As it is, trust in the police force is down because policemen are often accused of being corrupt. In fact, Transparency International’s ratings often show the police as being among the top few institutions that are perceived to be the most corrupt.

That is why I feel Razarudin’s reassurance is to be welcomed. In fact, he said that perpetrators – whether policemen or not – will be brought to book.

“For example, the police took immediate action in the case of the policeman accused of the fatal hit-and-run of a secondary school student. We did not compromise or conceal the matter. We charged him under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder,” he said.

He was referring to the case of a senior police officer from Kedah who had been arrested over a hit-and-run accident in Ipoh that led to the death of a 17-year-old student that day.

Local media reported that on Dec 15, 2023, Zaharif Affendi Zamrie was knocked off his motorcycle while on his way home from school by a motorist after a 1km chase, causing him to fall off and be dragged for nearly five metres.

And, in the case of the rape-and-extortion of Jan 9, police sprang into action immediately and arrested two policemen.

People will be watching how cases involving policemen progress. So, the police leadership must act decisively and be transparent, as Razarudin promised.

And if he wants the public to trust the police, more must be done to win that trust.

Some would remember that on Dec 17, 2012, the High Court scolded then deputy inspector-general Khalid Abu Bakar for putting the interest of the police ahead of that of the public. The court found that as Selangor police chief in 2009 he had failed to order an investigation into suspicions that the body of a detainee had been tampered with before it was sent for a second post-mortem.

We can accept that bad apples exist in most organisations, but not in the police force. So, the police leadership must get policemen to understand the reason for the existence of the force.

Perhaps they can use the “Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi” proverb to drive home the point.

I don’t know how accurate the 2% mentioned above by Razarudin is because some incidents go unreported, but I can say without hesitation that in my decades of reporting, I’ve found most policemen to be aware of the trust they hold.

In fact, I have known some very conscientious police officers, just as I have known policemen who risked life and limb in the performance of their duties.

Which is why I feel we don’t appreciate the work done by the police force as much as we should. The majority of policemen are good guys, decent folk. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.