Man held over missing pastor

Arrest comes amid probe into alleged conversion attempts

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have detained a man in connection with the abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said.

The Inspector-General of Police said the suspect was picked up in the northern part of the country last week.

“We believe his arrest is relevant to the ongoing investigation into the abduction of Koh.

“Let us investigate the case thoroughly,” he told a press conference in Bukit Aman after launching a blood donation programme yesterday.

Police had earlier detained another man in Ampang, who claimed he had kidnapped Koh and demanded ransom for his release.

However, it turned out to be a hoax and the man has since been charged in court.

The IGP dismissed claims by Koh’s family that police were not actively investigating the abduction, saying that the case was never closed.

“We are still investigating. As I mentioned before, there were a lot of interruptions in the initial stages of the case, which jeopardised our investigation.

“I said many times to let us investigate and not to give too much publicity. Our investigation is continuing,” he said.

Khalid said police were also investigating reports that Koh had attempted to proselytise Muslims, and were determining if this had any connection to his abduction.

“To be fair, we must investigate both reports, not just his abduction,” he added.

On claims that the authorities were responsible for Koh’s abduction, the IGP warned activists and others against “spinning the facts”.

“If you don’t have any evidence or proof, don’t make allegations. It is a very serious allegation.

“If you got proof, let us know and we will investigate,” he said.

Other missing people who have been making headlines included Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth, and social activist Amri Che Mat.

The country’s top cop said so far, there was evidence that only Koh was abducted, adding that many people on social media were trying to make it seem as if the other three had also been abducted.

“The other cases have been classified as missing persons. There is no evidence that Joshua, Ruth and Amri were abducted,” he said.

To date, Bukit Aman has recorded more than 26,000 missing person cases, of which 19,000 have been solved.

“Some 15.7% of the cases still pending involved underage victims,” he said.

It has been more than 100 days since Koh, 62, was abducted from his car by a group of men along Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya on Feb 13 while on his way to a friend’s house.

His silver Honda Accord bearing the number plate ST5515D was never found.

In a related matter, police have recorded the statements of three activists from Citizen Action Group on Enforced Disappearance (Caged) over possible foreign ties.

The three – Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy, Engage chairman Thomas Fann and Bersih 2.0 Special Committee member Rama Ramanathan – were questioned over a press conference on May 5, where 48 civil society groups led by Suaram formed Caged to monitor missing people cases.

The group allegedly suggested that the cases of Koh, Joshua, Ruth and Amri could be linked to enforced disappearances. thestartv.com