Police personnel will not conduct random mobile phone checks on people in public, says Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain.
Addressing growing concerns over the police’s authority to inspect mobile phones, he said that such actions would only occur when there was reasonable suspicion.
“The key point to understand is that we will only inspect the mobile phones of individuals under reasonable suspicion.
“This means there must be credible information, intelligence, or reasonable suspicion suggesting that an individual has committed an offence or crime, placing them under suspicion,” he told the New Straits Times.
Razarudin assured the public that officers would not be conducting arbitrary or random checks in public spaces.
“Our personnel will act strictly in accordance with applicable laws and constitutional provisions,” he said.
He also highlighted the importance of balancing law enforcement duties with respect for individual rights to ensure public trust in the police force.
For legal clarity, Razarudin said that the authority to inspect mobile phones was firmly grounded in existing legal provisions, including Section 23(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), Sections 233 and 249 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998, and Section 292 of the Penal Code.
These provisions establish the legitimacy of such actions.
“We want to emphasise again that inspections will only be carried out based on reasonable suspicion or credible intelligence, to ensure the public understands that this is not a random or arbitrary exercise.
“This will foster trust in the police force,” he said.
Razarudin said that to safeguard against abuse, only officers with the rank of Inspector or higher were authorised to carry out such inspections.
“This ensures accountability and professionalism,” he said. – NST