NIBONG TEBAL, Dec 10: Penang police have clarified that their top priority is to receive reports from complainants and not whether their attire is appropriate or otherwise while lodging reports.
Penang police chief Datuk Khaw Kok Chin said this while commenting on media reports of a man claiming that a policeman told him to change into long pants first before he could lodge a theft report when his car was broken into on Thursday night.
Khaw said his department was investigating the incident and would take appropriate action against the personnel involved.
“Penang police have always practised the concept of serving the community and those who come to the police station to seek help. So, the priority is to receive a police report and take immediate action to help a victim. It is not about appropriate or inappropriate attire when lodging a police report,” he told Bernama.
Commenting on the episode, Khaw said based on a review, the ‘order’ to change into trousers first for the man who wanted to make a police report was made by a member of the Police Volunteer Reserve (PVR) who was on duty at the police station’s guard post at the time.
“The PVR personnel then referred to his supervisor, a member of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) who was on duty at the time. We are conducting further investigations and will take appropriate action,” he said.
Several news portals reported that the 34-year-old complainant had dined at a hawker centre in Bukit Tambun here with his family before finding his car window smashed.
As a result, the victim lost RM800 in cash and the passport of his wife, who is a Chinese citizen. He then hurried to the Simpang Ampat police station here to make a police report.
However, the police officer on duty told the man who was clad in shorts then to change into trousers first.
The complainant protested that he was in shorts to eat out when the emergency occurred and hence he had rushed to the police station to file a report.
The man then returned to the scene of the crime with his family after being barred from entering the Simpang Ampat police station to check around the nearby bushes in the hope that the thief may have left his wife’s passport behind before the police arrived at the scene.
After relating the incident to the police personnel who came to investigate, they urged the man to head to Bukit Tambun police station to lodge a report while he was still in shorts and he did so without any further hassle.
— BERNAMA