What to do if you are stopped by the Malaysian police

[Adrian Wong]

From an e-mail I just received...

The next time you are stopped by persons who claimed they are plainclothes
police, you are under no obligation to answer their questions or follow
their orders, lawyers told Malaysiakini today.

"Policeman who is not wearing his uniform does not have the authority to
stop anyone," lawyer and human rights activist Sivarasa Rasiah said.

Sivarasa was commenting on the alleged gang-rape of an 18-year-old Uni
student by four men claiming to be police officers on New Year's Eve. The
girl said that her car was stopped in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur
and were asked by the men to open the car bonnet. She was then told that
she had committed an offence and ordered to follow the men to a police
station. The girl was driven in her car along the North-South expressway
to the Tapah-Cameron Highlands road before she was raped in an oil palm
estate.

This incident, and many others, have sparked confusion over the procedures
which motorists must follow when flagged down by the police. The most
common problem is that most people take instructions without determining if
the other person is really a cop," lawyer Annie Santiago said.

However, if you are stopped by a uniformed policeman, then you are required
to stop. But you need not get out of the car because you are not expected
to do so, Santiago said. He other rule to follow is to provide your
identity card only when you are asked to do so. "Even then, you should get
his ID first to confirm if he is a cop. There is no harm in calling the
relevant police station to verify if he is supposed to be on duty that
day," Sivarasa said.

Both lawyers said that motorists should never follow an officer to the
police station unless one is under arrest. "If you are not sure, and your
instincts tell you that something is wrong, then drive off to the nearest
police station and lodge a report," Sivarasa said.

In response to the alleged gang-rape of the 18-year-old, Women's Aid
Organisation executive-secretary Ivy Josiah called on the police to launch
an education program to teach the public about their rights to prevent them
from being victimised by bogus police officers.

Procedures to follow in the event you are stopped by uniformed police
Officers while driving.
* Stop the car and wind down your window.
* If the police officers ask for your documents, request to see their IDs
first.
* If you are satisfied about their identity, ask them if you are being
summoned, and for what offence.
* Produce your identity card and driver's license and wait to collect your
summon ticket.

In the event that the police officers ask you to follow them to the police
station:
* Ask if you are under arrest and for what offence.
* If you are not under arrest, you have the right to leave.

In the event you are flagged down by persons you believe could be
plainclothes police:
* Do not stop because plainclothes police officers do not have the
authority to stop you.
* Drive to the nearest police station and lodge a report. (The same
procedure applies to pedestrians)

In the event the police come to your house:
* Do not let them in before checking their IDs.
* If you are not satisfied, phone the nearest police station and confirm
if they had been sent to your house.
* You are under no obligation to allow them into the house if they don't
have a search warrant.
* Do not go with them if you are not under arrest.

In the event persons who claimed to be plainclothes police come to your
house:
* Do not let him in because they do not have the authority to do so.
* Lodge a report at the nearest police station.


CALL THE COPS:
* IPK KUALA LUMPUR: 03 - 236 0522
* AMPANG: 03 - 452 2222
* BRICKFIELDS 03 - 2274 2222
* CHERAS: 03 - 984 2222
* DANG WANGI: 03 - 230 2222
* KL TRAFFIC POLICE: 03 - 232 9044
* IPK SELANGOR: 03 - 5514 5222
* HOTLINE: 03 - 5510 2999
* PETALING JAYA: 03 - 7956 2222
* SHAH ALAM: 03 - 5510 2222
* KLANG: 03 - 3371 2222
* HULU LANGAT: 03 - 8736 2222
* HULU SELANGOR: 03 - 6064 1222
* KUALA LANGAT: 03 - 318 7222
* KUALA SELANGOR: 03 - 889 1222
* GOMBAK: 03 - 6092 6222
* SABAK BERNAM: 03 - 884 2222
* SEPANG: 03 - 847 1222
* KLIA: 03 - 8787 2222

[aKho]

good guide, i'm a bit enlightened..hope it helps avoid tragedy. there was once a case where a couple of "plaincloth" policemen raided a cyber cafe and made everyone there take a urine test. i wonder do they have the authority to do that if their not in uniform...

[peaz]

got this email before. I guess we just really need to be more prudent and know our rights... good info!

[elton]

ya, must check with identity no matter how. As my friend ask before and the police man stright away went off, i think is a fake police man that why, they just want to get some money from you

[Adrian Wong]

I think there's a report in The Star today about a team of plainclothes policemen who raided a family's house without a warrant.

Even when the family denied them permission to enter, they cut open the lock and entered anyway. They searched the whole house and left when they found nothing.

Imagine - this is the kind of shit our police will do. There doesn't seem to be any civil rights in this country.

[bslee]

Courtesy from a topic highlighted in www.usj.com.my forum :

--------------------------
Cheah later lodged a report at the Kg Tawas police station regarding the incident.

When contacted here yesterday, Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Che Sab Hanafiah said the policemen had followed procedures.

“They had shown their credentials to the house owner and when they were not allowed in, they have the right to break into the house to make a search even without a warrant,” he said.

He said police would investigate the alleged racial remarks made by one of the policemen.

If the policemen had done anything wrong, ACP Che Sab said appropriate action would be taken against them.

Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran said although the police had the right to search premises without a warrant, they should identify themselves properly.
------------------------------

Goes to show what happens in TV land doesn't work here!.
Just don't run foul of the law does best!.

[elton]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

I think there's a report in The Star today about a team of plainclothes policemen who raided a family's house without a warrant.

Even when the family denied them permission to enter, they cut open the lock and entered anyway. They searched the whole house and left when they found nothing.

Imagine - this is the kind of shit our police will do. There doesn't seem to be any civil rights in this country.

Real policeman or fake policeman can not believe they will do that Feel unsafety now

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by bslee

Courtesy from a topic highlighted in www.usj.com.my forum :

--------------------------
Cheah later lodged a report at the Kg Tawas police station regarding the incident.

When contacted here yesterday, Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Che Sab Hanafiah said the policemen had followed procedures.

“They had shown their credentials to the house owner and when they were not allowed in, they have the right to break into the house to make a search even without a warrant,” he said.

He said police would investigate the alleged racial remarks made by one of the policemen.

If the policemen had done anything wrong, ACP Che Sab said appropriate action would be taken against them.

Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran said although the police had the right to search premises without a warrant, they should identify themselves properly.
------------------------------

Goes to show what happens in TV land doesn't work here!.
Just don't run foul of the law does best!.

I guess things are different here in Malaysia.

It makes the police's job easier but who is there to control their actions and ensure it's a legit raid? That's why a judge should first approve of the raid and issue a warrant before they are allowed to raid someone's premises.

[bslee]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

I guess things are different here in Malaysia.

It makes the police's job easier but who is there to control their actions and ensure it's a legit raid? That's why a judge should first approve of the raid and issue a warrant before they are allowed to raid someone's premises.

Things ARE different here! One is easily influenced by TV-land.
Who to police the police?..Its anyone's guess!.
As I said, do best by not running foul of the law of the land.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by bslee

Things ARE different here! One is easily influenced by TV-land.
Who to police the police?..Its anyone's guess!.
As I said, do best by not running foul of the law of the land.

Well, that's because most of our TV shows are from the US, so our legal perspective do tend to be American in nature.

Hehe.. That's very true.