PUTRAJAYA: A Police General Operations Force personnel was scolded by his company commander for making more arrests after the discovery of the Wang Kelian human trafficking camps by police in January 2015.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probing the matter was informed by Corporal Mat Ten during closed door proceedings last week that after the police arrested 32 individuals during a recce-cum-raid in Wang Kelian on Jan 19, 2015, he nabbed six more illegal immigrants after he chanced upon them that night.
However, Mat’s action was allegedly met by disapproval from his superior, assistant superintendent M. Joeking, who was recalled to the stand as a witness today.
Reading out part of Mat’s testimony today, RCI chairman Tun Arifin Zakaria said that Mat was at a petrol station in Wang Kelian filling up his motorcycle when he saw six illegal immigrants walking by the road side. He then made a phone call to the station before having them arrested.
“However, Mat claimed you (Joeking) said, ‘You are really stupid, I have told you not to look for anymore (immigrants), why did you look for them?’”
“Mat then replied, ‘How am I not to arrest them? I saw them walking by the road side, so, of course, I would nab them’. Is this true?” Arifin asked Joeking today.
Joeking denied the claims, saying that a report would have been lodged otherwise.
“I don’t believe this. It is not right. If I was informed there were arrests made, I surely would have asked that a report be lodged. Why would I want to rebuke him?” he said in a sharp tone, disapproving.
Several other witnesses have also previously contradicted claims by Joeking, who was arrested by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission twice for alleged involvement in smuggling activities.
Joeking also rubbished claims that he frequented the northern parts of Malaysia and Southern Thailand, near the border, for unspecified reasons when he was off-duty.
“These are baseless accusations,“ he said.
According to former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai, an RCI panel member, and several witnesses have made claims against Joeking during closed-door proceedings in previous weeks.
On claims that he had many acquaintances on both sides of the border and often had meetings with them, Joeking said: “I do have two or three friends in the PGA operation areas. It is normal for me to meet them (either in Malaysia or Thailand).”
