THE POLICE have opened an investigation into a blogger’s claim that former senior police officer Datuk Seri Amar Singh’s “girlfriend” was present during the May 2018 raid at one of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s houses.
In his MalaysiaToday blog, controversial political blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) also claimed that the woman had left with a bag of seized items by the police.
Dang Wangi police district headquarters chief ACP Noor Dellhan Yahaya said its investigation unit received a police report yesterday afternoon (Aug 12) about Raja Petra’s allegations.
“The police are currently conducting an investigation and the investigation papers will be submitted to the deputy public prosecutor for further action,” he said in a statement.
He added that the case was being probed for defamation under Section 500 of the Penal Code and misuse of the internet under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
According to news reports, Amar lodged a police report over Raja Petra’s allegations, as did two other retired police deputy directors who were also present during the raid.
“Nobody saw a lady walk out with a suitcase”
Amar, a former Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department (CID) director who retired from the police force in December 2018, rubbished both allegations, saying there were detailed records of what was recovered.
“No such lady was present nor was anything removed as alleged,” he said, adding that no reporters or CCTV footage captured a civilian lady walking from the raid with a suitcase either.
“Clearly the allegations by Raja Petra are totally false.”
He also pointed out that the raid was conducted by a team comprising senior Royal Malaysian Police Force (PDRM) police officers, some of whom became directors and state police chiefs later on.
“There is just no way anything can go through this team without anyone noticing. Moreover, this team just met on the day of the raid.
“There is, therefore, no possibility of any conspiracy of a cover-up.”
Amar added that he intentionally included PDRM personnel from different departments to prevent false allegations made in the future about their work relating to the raid.
“Additionally, the entire raiding process was photographed and videos were recorded from the beginning to the end by an independent team from the CID,” he said.
Amar had famously led the PDRM raids on properties linked to Najib after Barisan Nasional’s fall from federal power after the 14th General Elections (GE14) in May 2018.
The raids were part of the police’s investigation into allegations and scandals linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), from which Najib has been accused of money laundering.
Dubbed as PDRM’s largest raid in history, the items seized from Najib’s houses, including jewelry, handbags, watches and RM114 mil in cash, were collectively valued at between RM900 mil to RM1.1 bil. – Aug 13, 2022
Main photo credit: The Vibes
