'Bad apples' in enforcement agencies need to be thrown away

Published on 10 Dec 2020

A spate of crimes involving enforcement officers has prompted several public figures to urge enforcement agencies to improve their training to prevent the increase in the number of "bad apples". The latest probe was on two 30-something policemen, each carrying the rank of lance corporal and constable, who were said to have forced a couple to have sex while they recorded their act on their mobile phones on Dec 4. In October, the MACC arrested four senior police officers who were among 10 individuals for their involvement with a Macau syndicate, widely reported by the media. Following that, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador, who repeatedly warned his officers against abuse of power, announced the formation of a special committee to screen police personnel qualified to work in certain departments. Police divisions such as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Narcotics CID, and D7, which deals with vice, gambling and secret societies, were undergoing major revamps. Last month, the MACC nabbed 28 immigration officers in cahoots with the "stamping facility" syndicates at KLIA. A low-rank officer was found to have luxury vehicles such as Phantom Rolls Royce, Mustang and Audi. These were among the recent cases reported by the media. Several public figures interviewed by Malaysiakini shared their thoughts on crimes involving enforcement officers.

Former IGP Musa Hassan

When police officers commit crimes, it shows that their discipline level had declined, and they have no respect for the law. If no standard operating procedure (SOP) was followed, there would bound to be corruption and abuse of power. In general, seven actions should be taken:

a) Stern action against officers and personnel for breaking the discipline, disregarding the Inspector-General of Police's Standing Order (PTKPN), and involving with corruption.

b) Stern action against supervisors or heads for failing to monitor and check their men and failing to take action against them for breaching the SOP.

c) Integrity and Standard Compliance Department and the MACC have to work together to monitor (possible wrongdoings).

d) Training during the service must be frequent for the officers and personnel to sharpen their skills, be aware of the standing orders and the SOP.

e) New recruits must be firmly instilled with disciplines to ensure that they respect the law and SOP.

f) Those who found to have a discipline problem need to undergo intensive retraining.

Alliance For Safety Community chairperson Lee Lam Thye

It is time for all law agencies to find effective ways to enhance integrity. It's something that cannot be compromised. Integrity covers the whole subject of work ethics. Every government department has its own integrity committee, but the question is, are they effective? Why, despite having the integrity committee in each department, we still see a lack of integrity among officers? The government must thoroughly review the integrity committees. Without integrity, there are bound to be problems such as corruption and abuse of power.

Crime analyst Kamal Affendi

If the public is worried about wrongdoing involving enforcement officers, they should also feel relief as the suspects have been arrested. It's the government's policy not to cover-up the abuse of power, and the enforcement agencies don't cover up their investigations. Hence, we can read reports about "bad apples". When some people start their jobs, they only have the knowledge of the system, but as they work their way up, this is where they know the weakness of the system and exploit it. When there is an opportunity in front of their eyes, surely it would become a motivation and desire to commit the crime. An immediate post-mortem must be conducted at all levels to identify the weak spots. We must not be satisfied when the suspects are punished. During the court case, we would be able to indicate the "weak spots". Then, we must seek to fix the weaknesses and close the exploited areas.  Kuala Lumpur Crime Prevention Practitioner Association exco Saiful Hamiruzzaman Mohd Hazir. Starting from now, the enrolment to join enforcement agencies must consider the mental health aspect of applicants. For so long, the agencies were focusing on the physical attributes of applicants. Weak mental strength will only lead to poor integrity, which opens up to the abuse of power. Secondly, victims and the public must know their rights when approached by enforcement officers and what they should do.

KLCPPA exco Bok Siew Mun

The police should implement the usage of body camera on their personnel while on duty. The applicants should undergo a thorough background check before joining the force and periodic checks thereafter. However, the public should know that only small police numbers are being investigated, not the whole police force. The police, on the whole, have done a lot to ensure our safety. Hence, we should not let a few rotten eggs tarnish the whole enforcement. On the other hand, severe actions should be taken if they are proven guilty. Crime analyst Shahul Hamid Abdul Rahim. The respective agencies have to review their work SOP to ensure that it's still relevant, and job rotation among officers and personnel must be regularly made. The standard of training and courses have declined. Many departments conduct training just for the sake of it. There's no proper training to encourage the participants to work with integrity and as a team. As for the enrolment of new recruits, every government agency has to review their modules. Perhaps, there are modules which do not achieve the desired standard.

- Mkini

- https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/554591

Corruption At the Malaysian Immigration Department

This post and the comments below are dedicated to the extent of corruption by Malaysian Immigration Officers. The gist of this post and comments are not to humiliate the Malaysian Immigration Department. The purpose of this post is to collect all the articles available on the corruptions and syndicates managing to corrupt government immigration officers on corruption. All those who love to travel and have any say about corruption in Malaysia is very welcome to say something in the comments column. Your views will not be judged but as the administrator of this blog, I will monitor your opinions. Please, this blog does not accept hedonistic, racialistic, and religious discriminatory comments. Any comments not related and offensive will be deleted, and you will not be entertained. 

MMZ enforcement not optimum due to lack of coordination - audit report

Bernama: Published 14 Jul 2020

The lack of coordination between enforcement departments and agencies, in terms of sharing of information, and insufficient assets are among the reasons why enforcement operations in the Malaysian Maritime Zone (MMZ) have not reached optimum efficiency.

The Auditor-General’s Report 2018 Series 3 stated that apart from damaged assets, the vast MMZ area also made it difficult for security and enforcement activities to be carried out.

“This is why activities like the smuggling of goods, encroachment and smuggling of undocumented migrants and incursions by fishermen are still happening in the ZMM,” said the report.

It added that damage to 34.6 percent of the ships and boats also affected the efficiency and effectiveness of operations in ZMM, while 11.7 percent of vessels or boats owned by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Royal Malaysia Police Marine Team and Department of Fisheries (DOF) were also damaged and have not undergone maintenance due to insufficient allocation.

The report further stated that there was no Malaysian Maritime Sea Surveillance System in the waters off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and east coast of Sabah to monitor any encroachment and smuggling activities in the zone.

It also said that there was no centralised collection and coordination of information among all the departments and agencies for enforcement purposes.

The report also revealed that Chinese Coast Guard vessels were detected to have encroached into the country’s waters 89 times from 2016 to 2019 and their presence had been identified to be related to claims over the South China Sea, especially the Beting Patinggi Ali area (BPA).

“Five diplomatic protest notes have been issued to China for trespassing into Malaysian waters following 29 reports lodged by the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) from 2018 to 2019,” the report added.

Thus, the report stated that the intrusion by China, especially in the BPA, was a serious threat to the sovereignty and security of the MMZ.

“Although the RMN has shown, through its presence in the area, that it will protect the sovereignty of the waters off BPA, it is not an enforcement agency.

“Accordingly, the MMEA should be at the BPA area at all times to carry out enforcement and give the Malaysian government an advantage should there be any claims by China at the international level,” the report suggested.

- Bernama

- Malaysiakini

- https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/534357

Police going after errant officers

CID Chief Datuk Huzir Mohamed

By Farik Zolkepli on Thursday, 11 Jun 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman is zeroing in on enforcement personnel who colluded with human smuggling syndicates following the arrests of 371 syndicate members during phase three of Ops Benteng, said Comm Datuk Huzir Mohamed (pic).

The Bukit Aman CID director said police have identified enforcement personnel involved with the human smugglers.

“We arrested 371 syndicate members comprising agents, transporters and those who prepared transit houses for illegal immigrants during the operation held from June 4 to June 7.

“The syndicate members were responsible for arranging the entry of illegal immigrants, especially those from Indonesia, Myanmar and Bangladesh, through land and sea, ” he told a press conference in Bukit Aman yesterday.

The police had started busting human trafficking syndicates since phase one of Ops Benteng from Jan 1 to March 17, before continuing in phase two from March 18 to June 3 during the movement control order (MCO) period, he added.“During phase two, the IGP instructed the CID to form a task force to curb the entry of illegal immigrants into the country, thus preventing the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

“The IGP had instructed as such, as intelligence indicated that more foreigners will attempt to return to Malaysia illegally after the Hari Raya Aidilfitiri celebrations, ” Comm Huzir said.

Since Jan 1,547 syndicate members, including 41 women aged between 20 and 70, were arrested, he added.

“Those detained were Malaysians, Indonesians, Bangladeshi, Myanmar nationals and Filipinos.

“We will step up our operations against human smuggling activities to cut the chain of the syndicate’s network.

“Our efforts are in line with the instructions from Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for the authorities to tighten security at the country’s borders nationwide, ” said Comm Huzir.

Comm Huzir said the syndicate members were arrested under Sosma and investigated for joining organised crime syndicates.

He urged those with information on human smuggling activities to contact the Bukit Aman CID’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) unit (D3) at 0326101510 or the nearest police station.

On another matter, 26,366 people were detained for various violations since the start of the MCO, Comm Huzir said, adding that 78% of them, who were detained between March 18 and June 9 have been charged in court.

“Compounds were also issued to 10,875 people, including 3,098 issued at police stations and 1,762 compounds in the field, ” he said.

The Star
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/11/police-going-after-errant-officers 

Covid-19 fears force separatists into ceasefire in south Thailand

Bernama on 5th April 2020

Thai-Malaysian border at Wang Prachan, Satun, Thailand. DChan Archives.

CORONAVIRUS | Southern Thailand's most powerful armed group, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), has announced a ceasefire to enable humanitarian and medical access into areas affected by Covid-19 outbreak in the province.

In a statement, dated April 3, the shadowy armed group said it is taking measures “to cease all activities" effective Friday (April 3), for as long as "BRN is not attacked by Thai government personnel”.

"In order to create a safer and more suitable environment for the people of Patani for health care agencies and other organisations tasked with preventing and containing the outbreak of coronavirus, BRN is now taking measures to cease all activities," said the statement which was issued by the group's central secretariat.

According to BRN, the pandemic, which has claimed several lives in the southern province is the "principal enemy of the human race" and the group reiterated its commitment to cooperate in overcoming the disease.

"As a defender of the Patani Nation, BRN calls on the entire Patani Nation to strive to protect each other and their families as much as possible and to pray to the creator," said the statement, adding that it also has to preserve "our nation and descendants" from being infected by the virus.

The group said the current climate of anxiety and hardship faced by the people in Pattani is further aggravated by increasing military operations, which are "inhumane and senseless."

Thailand's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has reported that 20 people in the Kingdom have died from the virus and 2,067 people infected.

Chan-O-Chan, Prime Minister of Thailand. Malaysiakini File Photos.

In a televised address, Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (above) announced a nationwide curfew from 10pm until 4am effective April 3 in a bid to contain the virus which has wreaked havoc throughout the globe.

Facilitated by Malaysia, BRN and Thailand's peace dialogue panel had held historic meetings in Kuala Lumpur in January and March this year in the latest bid to forge peace in the violence-wracked provinces of Patani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkla.

As the most influential armed group in southern Thailand, BRN has been blamed by Thai authorities for most of the armed-conflict related violence that happened in the southern provinces.

The armed conflict in southern Thailand, which borders northern Malaysia, has raged since 2004, claiming more than 7,000 lives.

- Bernama

- Mkini

- https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/518908

The 'Shadowlands' Of Southeast Asia's Illicit Networks: Meth, Dancing Queens And More

September 11, 2018

Ashley Westerman

Hello, Shadowlands

Inside the Meth Fiefdoms, Rebel Hideouts and Bomb-Scarred Party Towns of Southeast Asia

by Patrick Winn

Paperback, 414 pages

Southeast Asia's economy is booming, increasing at an average of 5 per cent per year. Thanks to an expanding consumer market, a young, robust workforce and increasing regional cooperation, it's only expected to grow.

But as it does, so do the region's black markets: drugs, human trafficking, animal trafficking. It's this world of underground organized crime that is the topic of journalist Patrick Winn's new book, "Hello, Shadowlands: Inside the Meth Fiefdoms, Rebel Hideouts and Bomb-Scarred Party Towns of Southeast Asia".

Based in Bangkok, Winn is the Asia correspondent for Public Radio International's The World and has spent a decade trying to understand how crime groups are allowed to thrive in a region where democracy is in retreat.

"When some people hear 'authoritarian rule,' they think squeaky-clean streets and no crime, but that's not the case," Winn tells NPR's Morning Edition.

In the book, Winn argues how and why "authoritarian, capitalist-style" governments are fertile ground for criminal networks to exist. He tells this story through drug fiefdoms in Myanmar that help fuel the world's largest methamphetamine trade, women selling illegal contraceptives in the Philippines and entertainers exported from North Korea to work in state-run restaurants across Southeast Asia — among others.

Winn argues that whether it's pushing hot-pink speed pills, snatching up people's pets to sell into Vietnam's dog meat market or taking up prostitution, people working outside the law "can oftentimes be quite relatable. They are all making rational choices in a rather extreme environment."

The following highlights from the interview are edited and condensed for clarity.

The EU plans to test an AI lie detector at border points

By Dani Deahl on 31st October 2018.

Illustration by James Bareham / The Verge

Trials for AI lie detection at border patrol checkpoints are set to begin soon in the EU. The program, called iBorderCtrl, will run for six months at four border crossing points in Hungary, Latvia and Greece with countries outside the European Union, as reported by Gizmodo.

iBorderCtrl is an EU-funded project that uses AI to facilitate faster border crossings for travellers. The system has users fill out an online application and upload some documents, like their passport, before a virtual border guard takes over to ask questions. According to New Scientist, some of these questions include “What’s in your suitcase?” and “If you open the suitcase and show me what is inside, will it confirm that your answers were true?” Travellers will answer while facing a webcam and the system will analyze and rate dozens of micro-gestures.

If iBorderCtrl determines the traveller is telling the truth, then they receive a QR code that will let them pass the border. If there is suspicion the traveller is lying, they’ll have biometric information was taken — including fingerprinting, palm vein reading, and face matching — before being passed to a human agent who will review their information and make an assessment.

The program is still considered highly experimental, and in its current state, will not prevent anyone from crossing over a border. Early testing of a previous iteration only had a 76 per cent success rate, but a member of the iBorderCtrl team told New Scientist that they are “quite confident” that can be raised to 85 per cent.

Even if that goal is reached, it leaves a large amount of room for error. But that’s not entirely surprising as studies have shown that many facial recognition algorithms have significant error rate issues and bias. These systems have also raised flags with civil liberties groups like the ACLU’s Border Litigation Project, who worry they might lead to more widespread surveillance.

- The Verge

- https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/31/18049906/eu-artificial-intelligence-ai-lie-detector-border-points-immigration

© 2020 Vox Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Thai policeman arrested as key suspect in human trafficking of Rohingya

Published on December 31, 2019, by Greeley Pulitze

Police have arrested a man who they believe has trafficked at least 200 Rohingya refugees into Thailand on their way to Malaysia.

56-year-old Charin Chuenchom was arrested over the weekend at a house in Ratchaburi, east of Bangkok. Chanin consequently confessed and was handed over to authorities for prosecution

The Rohingya are a stateless, mainly Muslim ethnic group living in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. They are not permitted to hold Burmese citizenship and have faced historical persecution culminating in the August 2017 attacks on them by the Burmese army (Tatmadaw). There were an estimated 1 million Rohingya in Myanmar before the 2016–17 crisis in which many fled, many by sea and others as refugees crossing the northern border into Bangladesh.

Thailand does not recognise Rohingya as refugees and in the past has arrested, detained and deported them back to Myanmar.

In 2013 the UN described the Rohingya as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, comparing their conditions to apartheid and accusing the Tatmadaw of “genocide”.

Police believe Chanin was a key player in a human trafficking gang, including a former railway policeman, illegally moving Rohingya people out of Myanmar through Thailand to Malaysia. The Bangkok Post reports that they charged each migrant 12,000 baht for ‘safe’ passage to Malaysia.

“We believe the gang have smuggled Rohingya people into Thailand more than 20 times, with 10-15 people each time, and collected more than 4 million baht,” police told Bangkok Post.

Authorities arrested 14 Rohingya migrants and two Thai smugglers on a train in Nakhon Si Thammarat in January last year. They suspect Chanin used stolen identities to buy their train tickets. He’s been charged with smuggling migrants and human trafficking.

The train was headed for the Thai-Malaysian border. The migrants were extremely hungry as they had no food and only a little drinking water.

SOURCE: Chiang Rai Times | Bangkok Post

- The Thaiger
- https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/crime/thai-policeman-arrested-as-key-suspect-in-human-trafficking-of-rohingya

Police believe attack on Padang Besar border post retaliatory - IGP

Bernama; Published on October 31, 2019

The police believe the attack against the General Operations Force (GOF) guard post in Perlis, on Monday, was due to revenge, as cross-border criminals now found it difficult to smuggle goods out of the country.

Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador said, however, the GOF personnel at the border were unfazed by such acts of intimidation.

“We will not tolerate them (smugglers) and I believe they will use firearms after this because it is difficult to smuggle.

"They did not shoot at people but shot the GOF guard post as a warning, as they were not allowed to smuggle," he said during a press conference in Bukit Aman.

Abdul Hamid said to improve enforcement at the border, the GOF should be supplied with a new Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to replace the current one which was 42 years old.

"I have informed the Home Ministry for the police to be supplied with a new APC so that they can safely patrol the country's border," he said.

Abdul Hamid said the GOF and members of the Special Branch had already consulted with Thai authorities to conduct an investigation and identify the suspects.

"Thai authorities have also assured that they would tighten security at the border areas," he said.

On Monday, the GOF guard post in Padang Besar was attacked with firecrackers at about 11.20 am and 12.40 pm, causing one of the windows to break.

- Bernama

- Mkini

- https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/498003

MACC exposes 'blatant' smuggling at Thai-M’sian border, police say probe underway

Annabelle Lee & Hariz Mohd; Published: 18 Oct 2019

• Updated with Bukit Aman’s response that officers implicated in the videos have been identified and taken action upon

Courtesy: worldofbuzz.com

The MACC unveiled a series of videos today which depicted smuggling activities happening across the Thai-Malaysian border in Padang Besar, Perlis.

The clips, which the anti-corruption agency said were handed to them recently, dated from 2017 to May this year.

They showed how enforcement officers would stand around or be occupied on their mobile phones as smugglers carried sacks of goods across the border in plain sight.

It also showed officers being approached by smugglers before they commenced smuggling activities.

In an immediate response, IGP Abdul Hamid Bador told Malaysiakini that Bukit Aman has since identified and taken action on the border security officers implicated in the clips. 

According to MACC’s analysis, smuggling was most rampant between 6am and 9am when enforcement officers changed shifts.

Among the things it believed was being brought illegally across the border were ketum leaves, petrol, fertiliser, flour, cooking oil and sundry items which were cheaper in Malaysia than in Thailand.

Addressing the press conference after playing the clips, MACC chief Latheefa Koya said that the videos showed “blatant” smuggling at the border and did not discount the possibility of more serious transborder crimes like human and drug trafficking.

The agency has since informed the police about its discovery.

“We have handed all video clips to the police. We will work with the IGP (Abdul Hamid) to take the necessary action.

“[...] (And) once we get the details from the police, we will take the necessary action (that is) within our jurisdiction.

“Of course, the police on their side will have to take the necessary action to step up and tighten the borders, which would include rotations, changing and everything else that we need to do,” she said.

“We believe the data we received also involves the Immigration Department, Customs Department and the National Security Council (MKN),” Latheefa added.

Police probe underway

When contacted, Abdul Hamid said that the police had initiated a probe into the clips since receiving them late last month, and was working closely with the MACC and MKN on the matter.

He added that the improvements had been made to the police’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) for those stationed at national borders and entry points.

Smugglers have also been arrested.

"Since the past four to five months, General Operations Force (PGA) officers at the borders had recorded many successes in crippling smuggling syndicates that were responsible in trafficking all sorts of contrabands, illicit cigarettes, drugs, exotic animals, firearms, immigrants.

"They also arrested smugglers who tried to give them money (in exchange for allowing their activities).

"Their (officers’) awareness to carry out their duties with full integrity had been showing more and more. (And) with the latest standing orders on their duty SOPs, I am confident that cases of leakages at our borders can be decreased drastically,” he said.

- Mkini

- https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/496400