Police join forces to sign corruption-free pledge

PETALING JAYA: Cops around the country joined forces to sign the corruption-free pledge, vowing to keep their squad clean of graft.

In MELAKA, state deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ruslan Hassan said that since January, they had opened 42 investigation papers on various misconduct by their personnel.

The cases, he said, involved one senior police officer and 48 rank and file policemen.

“This shows that the police will not compromise on any of their personnel who commit offences,” he told reporters after the signing at the state police headquarters in Bukit Beruang yesterday.

Melaka police came under the spotlight in May after anti-graft officers picked up several of their personnel, believed to be part of a syndicate providing protection to illegal gambling dens and massage parlours.

In IPOH, Perak deputy CPO Deputy Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob said they were conducting an internal probe into the case of two policemen arrested for trying to smuggle prohibited items into the central lock-up last week.

The incident, he said, was an isolated matter.

“Initial investigation shows that it may have started one or two weeks ago,” he said after leading about 400 personnel in signing the pledge.

It was reported that among the items found in the two garbage bags with the duo were batteries, cigarettes, bottled drinks, chocolate bars, toothpaste, a cake and cards.

In GEORGE TOWN, some 9,000 policemen took their oath to be corruption-free, led by Penang deputy police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Roslee Chik, while in ALOR SETAR, about 5,000 personnel took part in the ceremony.

In JOHOR BARU, where some 10,000 officers signed the pledge, state deputy police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said that in April, two bribery attempts were recorded over an illegal immigrant case in Skudai and a drug case in Bekok.

DCP Mohd Kamarudin said last year, seven such cases were recorded.

In KOTA KINABALU, Sabah Police Deputy Commissioner Datuk Razarudin Husain said state police would continue to keep an eye on their personnel through the Integrity and Standard Compliance Department.

He had led more than 3,400 personnel to take the pledge at the state police headquarters in Kepayan.