Not legally right for cops to call for presence in police station unless in writing – PBK president

Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan said individuals are not legally obligated to appear at a police station unless they have received a written letter as stipulated in Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In a statement yesterday, Voon claimed that he had received complaints regarding law enforcement officers requiring members of the public to appear at their office through telephone notifications.

“Suddenly, they found themselves (to be) put under arrest and be remanded. In certain cases, they could not have access to their lawyers and members of their families,” he said in the statement.

He said the law stipulates that when a police officer necessitates someone’s presence at a police station, the individual must be formally notified in writing, detailing the reasons for their required presence.

Voon pointed out that under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a police officer who is conducting an investigation under this chapter may by order in writing require the attendance before himself of any person who from the information given or otherwise appears to be acquainted with the circumstances of the case, and that person shall attend as so required.

He added that if any such person refuses to attend as so required, that police officer may report such refusal to a Magistrate who may thereupon in his discretion issue a warrant to secure the attendance of that person as required by such order.

“To break it down, Section 111 is the section that gives authority to the police to call you in if you are a witness for anything that they are required to investigate.

“If you refuse to attend, the police can report you to the magistrate who may then issue a warrant. This ‘call’ would typically be done in writing,” said Voon.

He pointed out that such procedure is to help differentiate a scammer from an actual police officer, as the law does not allow police officers to require a person’s attendance at a police station via a telephone call.

“When a police officer calls you to meet at a police station, always ask the reason as to why you have to be present before them as it is a person’s right to know.”

However, he said it is not illegal for the police to immediately place a person under arrest once that person has appeared at a police station.