A lawyer for whistleblower Albert Tei has written to Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail seeking clarification on the status of a police investigation into a report lodged more than five months ago against Arifin Arif.
According to the letter sighted by Malaysiakini, lawyer Mahajoth Singh said his client had filed the report against Arifin, the son-in-law of Sabah governor Musa Aman, on Feb 6, but has yet to be updated on the case’s progress.
“Our client has not received any response or update on the investigation status as of July 7, despite several letters being sent in accordance with procedures under Section 107A of the Criminal Procedure Code,” he said.
Tei (above) claimed that Arifin - one of the individuals accused of taking bribes in exchange for a prospecting licence - had filed a “false report” alleging that a Feb 3 Malaysiakini article was inaccurate, misleading, and filled with false and slanderous claims.
On Feb 6, the businessperson had filed a counter police report against Arifin, a day after the state minister lodged a report against the Malaysiakini article on the alleged settlement offer.
Arifin had accused the businessperson of being part of a cartel attempting to monopolise mining licences in the state.
However, Tei, in his counter report, said that he is willing to be arrested and charged if investigations prove his allegation of a settlement offer was false.
Since then, Mahajoth added that the lack of progress prompted Tei to file a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) on July 8.
No further communication
Following the IPCC complaint, Tei was summoned to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters on July 15 to provide a statement under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“We were informed that after the statement was recorded, the investigating officer gave an assurance that the investigation would proceed promptly,” said Mahajoth.
However, he noted that two weeks had passed since the statement was recorded, with no further communication from the authorities.
“We are puzzled as to why the investigation appears to lack urgency, especially since the report involves a serious offence under Section 182 of the Penal Code,” he added.
He further raised concerns over the transparency and integrity of the police investigation, saying the lack of updates has raised serious questions.
Last month, Tei and two assemblypersons - assistant state industrial development and entrepreneurship minister Andi Suryady Bandy and Sindumin assemblyperson Yusof Yacob - claimed trial to corruption charges linked to the scandal. - Mkini
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