Cop Claims No Footage of Koh’s Abduction As CCTVs Not Functioning

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On the sixth day of the Pastor Richard Koh public inquiry by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia’s (Suhakam), the panel was told no CCTV footage was obtained from the cameras along the possible routes taken by Koh’s abductors as they were not functioning.

  • Cameras along possible routes taken by Koh’s abductors not working 
  • However, no evidence of replies from authorities confirming CCTVs not functioning 
  • Apparently, Zakir Naik may be relevant in the abduction case
Adib Rawi Yahya/Sunpix

Investigating officer ASP Supari Mohammad confirmed that there were several CCTVs in place at the junction of Jalan Majlis and Jalan Bahagia operated by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) and traffic police.

However, the police could not obtain any footage as all the cameras there were not working.

“I have written a letter to the MBPJ and was informed that the CCTV was not working…MBPJ said it was being upgraded. 

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“The traffic police cameras are only activated when there are accidents, but in this case they were also not working,” Supari said.

He added that the police had previously highlighted to the MBPJ that many of the CCTVs maintained by the local council were not working.

“But they gave us the excuse that the maintenance was too costly…we wanted the CCTVs to fight crime but most of the time they were broken or in the process of being upgraded,” he said.

Supari agreed that the only CCTV footage from the scene of the crime was obtained by the family and not the police.

 Another CCTV installed on Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong was also found to be non-functioning when the police went to acquire the recording, he told the inquiry.

“We have also written to LLM (Malaysian Highway Authority) and were later informed that it was not functioning,” Supari said.

However, he could not present the replies from MBPJ and LLM which had allegedly confirmed that the CCTVs along the routes were not functioning.

“I cannot show you the evidence here. The matter is still under investigation and if I reveal the evidence, it will jeopardise my investigations,” Supari said.

His testimony prompted the lawyers of Koh’s family to allege that the police are suppressing evidence and refusing to share CCTV recordings by claiming that all the cameras were not functioning.

“The police tell us all the cameras are faulty, they provide us with no evidence, their story doesn’t corroborate with the evidence provided by the family. 

 “How can we confirm anything if they say all the CCTVs were faulty?

 “How do we know you had checked all the CCTVs if there was no evidence provided?”

The inquiry was further informed that the CCTVs operated by MBPJ were also linked to an operation room at the Petaling Jaya District police headquarters, but the operation room was only provided with live feed with no recording.

FMT reported that replying to a question from Jerald Gomez, one of the lawyers for Koh’s family, Supari said the police acknowledged that extremism could play a part in the abduction.

Former inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar had previously said the police were looking at the possibility of extremism linked to Koh’s abduction.

It was reported that Gomez had told the inquiry controversial preacher Zakir Naik had given talks and held a series of conversions that took place in Arau, Perlis, on Feb 10, 2017, three days before Koh was abducted. He also said Perkasa was known to have defended Zakir.

Responding to the question of whether the police were investigating Zakir or Perkasa, Supari was quoted as saying: “No, we have not yet but yes they are (relevant to be investigated).”

He said extremism was a lead in the case but he did not see the point to investigate them.

“I take instructions from my superiors and any information I received (on the case). I did not see any point (to investigate them).

“I agree (people with extremist thoughts should be investigated in relation to the case),” Supari was quoted as saying.


Earlier reports:

Nov 3, Inquiry Panel Visits Koh’s Abduction Site

Nov 2, Raymond Koh’s 63rd Birthday ‘Celebration’ at Day 4 of inquiry.

Oct 31, Ex-IGP Admits Lapses in Koh’s Investigation, Refuses to Answer Many Questions