Police investigating death threat against MACC chief

SHAH ALAM, 5 Aug 2009: Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar today said police were investigating the death threat against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan.

Khalid said police were investigating the matter under Section 506 of the Penal Code, Bernama reports.

Ahmad Said received the death threat in a letter that was sent to the Selangor MACC headquarters over a week ago.

Khalid was speaking at a press conference after attending a dialogue with Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan Shell petrol station operators, here.

The media reported today that the death threat was meant to revenge the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock after he was was interrogated by Selangor MACC last month.

The letter writer blamed Ahmad Said and MACC officers for Teoh’s death and threatened to shoot them. The writer also used foul language in expressing dissatisfaction with the MACC for not taking action against the Barisan Nasional and MCA, but only investigating DAP leaders.

In a press release today, DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua condemned the threat and stressed that Ahmad Said must be given full police protection.

“We strongly condemn such malicious and ruthless intentions, as they do not shed light on the investigation of the Teoh Beng Hock case, nor give justice to his death,” Pua, who is also Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara, said.

“The threats will only serve to impair investigations into the matter, and further obstruct the work of the MACC,” he added.

Robbery cases

On another matter, Khalid earlier disclosed that until the end of July, 160 robbery cases at petrol stations were recorded in Selangor, with Subang Jaya and Gombak having the most number of cases.

Among the modus operandi of the robbers and thieves were smashing the glass door or glass-wall panels of the petrol stations, and threatening the victims with a sharp weapon or pistol while under the pretext of purchasing something.

“Today’s petrol stations are not like those of yesteryear. They now have a convenience store, ATM machines and a food kiosk. These attract robbers,” he said.

Khalid said most of the robbery incidents at the petrol stations happened between 4am and 6am.

To prevent such incidents, he suggested that petrol station operators station a guard at the premises, have more staff at the stations during the late shift, install closed-circuit television cameras or alarms, and establish rapport with the local police for information exchange.

He, however, advised against having foreign workers manage the cash registers because robbers tended to have no fear of them.

“But what is most important is the cooperation of all quarters, including among neighbours and the local business community in curbing crime, by immediately contacting the police [about] the presence of suspicious characters in their vicinity,” he said.

Khalid said besides the normal emergency lines, residents should also have the phone or hotline numbers of the nearest police station or district police headquarters which they could call in emergency cases.