Doctor should not have ran when he saw police: IGP

PETALING JAYA: The police insist that a Serdang Hospital doctor's "suspicious behaviour" is to be blamed for his arrest about two weeks ago.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (pix) said Dr Thanendran Renganathan should not have ran when he saw heavily armed police officers.
"What is clear from this incident is that the actions of Dr Thanendran himself aroused the suspicion of police officers who were in the middle of an operation against dangerous criminals.
"He should not have panicked when faced with such a situation as his father is a senior police officer while his father in-law is also a former senior police officer," Khalid said in a statement today.
He also pointed out that there were at least 10 other people at the scene during his arrest and they did not run from the police.
Khalid then took the opportunity to dispel several assertions made regarding the incident, including claims that he was manhandled by four to six officers and was kicked to the ground.
He said the statement is untrue as Dr Thanendran's himself said in his police report that he slipped and fell while officers had to cuff him as he was resisting.
Khalid also said officers could not have seen that the doctor was wearing hospital scrubs and a stethoscope as he was running with his back towards the cops.
Furthermore, he said, any allegations that the arrest is to frame him of a crime is untrue and unsubstantiated.
"It is regretful that the subject (Dr Thanendran) said he was being framed as the officers involved in the operation were performing their duties according to standard operating procedure," Khalid said.
He said the arrest was clearly not caused by the officers' failure to adhere to standard operating procedures nor negligence.
Khalid added that Dr Thanendran was treated well while in custody and urged all to not manipulate the incident to damage the image and credibility of the police.