Lawful to have suspects in lock-up attire: IGP
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have the authority to have suspects wear lock-up attire when taking them to court as it is within the law, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, adding that it is the standard practice involving detainees.
“There is a reason we have them wear those purple outfits. How else would you differentiate suspects from civilians in court?
“Sometimes, we make two to three trips to court for remand procedures,” he said after launching a My Psychology Spiritual (MySP) training module for police in Bukit Aman yesterday.
The MySP module aims to increase integrity among police personnel through psychology and spiritual guidance.
Last week, Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad said the use of handcuffs and lock-up attire on suspects being taken to court are lawful, and said he welcomed anyone to challenge the anti-graft body in court over the legality of the procedure.
Dzulkifli was referring to claims by human rights lawyer N. Surendran that MACC’s practice of having suspects wear its orange lock-up uniform is unlawful.
Surendran cited Article 5 of the Federal Constitution, that provides for the fundamental liberties of a person and Regulation 168 of the Prisons Regulations 2000, that states a prisoner who has not been convicted shall be permitted to wear his own clothes and to procure for himself or to receive at proper hours such articles of clothing as the officer-in-charge may approve.
Khalid also said recent largescale police raids launched by the Special Branch counter-terrorism unit had proved successful as police had picked up a number of wanted individuals.
The anti-militancy operation was initiated ahead of the SEA Games to ensure security and safety for the event.
On another matter, Khalid revealed the man who witnessed the fatal shooting of a Bukit Aman policeman in Kedah was under restricted residence in Changloon.
“The man was detained under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959. We are conducting a thorough investigation into the murder of sub-inspector Abu Hashim Ismail, 54, who was shot dead at a house in Taman Hosba on Friday.”
Apart from the witness, two men who allegedly gunned down Abu Hashim were arrested after they surrendered to police.
On whether the two had underworld connections, Khalid said this was being investigated.
“There are reasons the two suspects were on our wanted list,” he said, while declining to elaborate on the motive for the murder.
Abu Hashim was attached to the Bukit Aman Secret Societies, Gambling and Anti-Vice division.