Police: 199 reports lodged on election offences, 62 papers opened
KOTA KINABALU: Police have received 199 reports on various offences committed throughout the 16th Sabah Election since campaigning started on Sept 12, said Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali.
In a report by Bernama, he said 62 investigation papers had been opened on these cases.
“The offences include those under Section 427 of the Penal Code (mischief), Section 500 of the Penal Code (defamation), Section 385 of the Penal Code (extortion), Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (improper use of network facilities) and Section 25(1)(i) of the National Registration Regulations (using identification card belonging to another per son),” he said here yesterday.
Hazani said the investigation papers would be referred to the deputy public prosecutor’s office for further instructions.
Hazani expressed his gratitude to those involved in ensuring that the election was conducted smoothly.
“No matter who wins and is given the mandate by the people, Sabah police remain neutral in ensuring the order, security and wellbeing of Sabah,” he said.
Earlier, the Election Commission (EC) announced that up to 3pm yesterday, the voter turnout was at 58 per cent out of 1,088,711 registered voters.
The EC had targeted a voter turnout of between 70 and 75 per cent.
All 741 polling centres involving 2,450 streams for the state polls closed at 5pm yesterday.
Some polling centres were closed earlier because they did not have many voters, with reports that some of them were closed as early as 2pm or 3pm.
A total of 73 state seats were contested, with 476 candidates representing 16 parties, in addition to 56 independent candidates.
The Sabah State Legislative Assembly was dissolved on July 30, paving the way for the state election to form the new state government.
The EC had said RM186 million had been spent on the state election.