Tuesday 8 June 2010

Police gave me wrong summons, claims driver

By ZORA CHAN
zora@thestar.com.my
Tuesday June 8, 2010

The people must report to the police if they felt that the police had acted beyond their powers, and the media must also not give prominence to the DAP for highlighting the people’s problem. 
- Tuan Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah

A DRIVER who purportedly beat the traffic lights claimed that he was only stopped by police about 2km away from the point he allegedly committed the offence.

And when he was reluctant to produce his driving licence, the police officer who stopped him asked: “You mau main kasar? (Do you want to play rough?)”.

Motorist Chong Eng Jee, 28, said the incident happened on June 1 at around 11pm. He was driving past Jalan Datuk Merican Salleh to Jalan Kwong Lee Bank when he realised a Mobile Police Vehicle had been trailing him.

He claimed that he had driven “cautiously and made a U-turn at the Jalan Kwong Lee Bank junction to Lorong Sebor and headed towards Jalan Datuk Abdul Rahman Rahim”.

“At Jalan Datuk Abdul Rahman Rahim, the MPV stopped me and a policeman asked for my driving licence. When I was reluctant to show my licence because I felt I didn’t do anything wrong, the policeman threateningly asked me if “I was trying to play rough”. I was alone and there were two of them, so I gave them my licence,” he told reporters at the DAP headquarters in Kuching yesterday.

Chong said the policeman had issued a summons stating that he had beaten the red light at Jalan Kwong Lee Bank when he made the U-turn.

Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong who called a press conference to highlight the issue said if Chong was at fault, the MPV should have stopped the driver immediately instead of allowing him to drive another two kilometres until Jalan Datuk Abdul Rahman Rahim.

Monday 7 June 2010

‘Go to the police, not DAP’

June 7, 2010

Opposition party is not the authority on criminal cases — Abdul Karim

KUCHING: Sarawak Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) chief Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the DAP should not be the place for alleged wrongdoers and lawbreakers to fall back on.

The DAP should also be more responsible and not try to sensationalise alleged wrongdoings of suspected law breakers, he added.

Karim, who is also chief political secretary to the Chief Minister, said people must report to the police, even if one of their own was believed to have acted beyond their powers.

The media must also not give prominence to the DAP because by doing so the public would be swayed to portray the police, who have been entrusted to look after the safety and security of the general public, adversely.

He was referring to media reports on alleged police brutality on a technician following a road mishap at KM85 Jalan Kuchin-Sri Aman around 2pm on Friday.

From what had been reported, said Karim, the technician had refused to follow the instructions of the police and this itself was an offence.

The police must not be cowed by all these threats of alleged brutality.