Suspect held in pastor’s abduction, says IGP
> Local man arrested in northern state last week
KUALA LUMPUR: Police last week picked up a suspect in connection with the abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh.
In confirming this, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the suspect was picked up in a northern state of the country.
“We picked up a local and I would like to stress here that there is no truth to the claims that the case is not being investigated.
“Every angle of the case is being focused on,” he told reporters after launching a blood donation programme in Bukit Aman here yesterday. Khalid added that Koh is also being investigated for proselytising as there were police reports lodged against him on this.
“We are also looking whether there is a connection between the claims of Koh’s alleged proselytising and his abduction.
“Since there are reports against him, the police have to be fair to investigate his alleged offence and his abduction,” he said.
Khalid added that investigations were hampered due to the publicity the case received earlier.
“I have said this many times – please do not speculate or create unnecessary publicity on this case as it will hamper our work. Let us conduct our probe,” he said.
Earlier in the case, police detained a man in Ampang who demanded a ransom for allegedly kidnapping Koh.
However, it turned out to be a hoax and the man has since been charged in court.
On Tuesday, Koh’s wife Susanna Liew, expressed disappointment with police for investigating her husband’s alleged proselytising instead of solving his abduction case.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Koh’s family said: “The Koh family is following closely these public statements by the police about this arrest that they claim they made last week. They wish to reserve comment until they get more substantial information on this.
“For the record, the family states that up to now, no one from the police has informed them about this arrest that apparently happened last week. Like the Malaysian public, this is the first time they have heard about it. It is unusual that there was no announcement of this at the time of the suspect’s arrest.”
On a related matter, Khalid said police are also investigating a group for alleging the authorities were involved in several cases of missing activists.
Khalid said the matter is being investigated under Section 504 (b) of the Penal Code, which deals with intentional insult to provoke a breach of the peace.
“This is a serious allegation and we will not allow them to take this opportunity to make baseless accusations.
“If you have evidence, bring it to the police and we will take action. Don’t try to ‘spin’ the situation by making it seem as though the authorities are involved,” he said.
The activist group, known as Citizen Action Group on Enforced Disappearance (CAGED), had previously claimed that the cases of missing persons like Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth, social activist Amri Che Mat, and Koh, were “enforced disappearances”, a term used for abduction by state agents.
The activists, Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy, Engage chairman Thomas Fann and Bersih 2.0 Special Committee member Rama Ramanathan said they had been called up by police to give a statement in regard to the formation of the group.