Melaka probe almost done
MACC has obtained plenty of info on protection racket
PUTRAJAYA: After arresting 12 people, including senior police officers, anti-graft busters believe they are close to completing their investigation into claims that police are providing protection to vice dens in Melaka.
Sources in the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission ( MACC) said investigators are “almost done” after a series of arrests over the past week which saw police personnel from Melaka Tengah and Jasin districts as well as from the state contingent headquarters being rounded up to help with the probe.
“We can’t say for certain if there will be no further arrests.
“Those arrested are still under remand and we are still trying to get more information on this case,” a source told The Star yesterday.
The latest to be detained in the alleged protection racket is the Melaka Tengah district CID chief, who was picked up by MACC officers on Monday.
The 49-year-old has been remanded for a week until May 29, after magistrate Nik Isfahanie Tasnim Wan Ab Rahman in Putrajaya granted the MACC’s request for him to be held while investigation is underway.
The anti-graft body has also detained seven other policemen in connection with the case – the district police chiefs of Melaka Tengah and Jasin, two assistant superintendents, two inspectors and a corporal.
Four other individuals believed to be acting as middlemen for the illegal gambling den and massage parlour operators and the police are also under the MACC’s custody.
A substantial amount of cash, including RM800,000 found stashed in the storeroom of the corporal’s house, has been recovered while several accounts belonging to all the suspects have been frozen.
Meanwhile, MACC also obtained an order to remand a 40-year-old man, who was picked up on Monday night by anti-graft busters on suspicion of soliciting and taking RM86,000 from several legal firms.
The man supposedly accepted the sum as an inducement to ensure that these firms are appointed by the banks to prepare loan agreements for purchase of property under a developer here.