Friday, July 5, 2013

Justice for all, not just Khairy, DAP MP tells cops

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/justice-for-all-not-just-khairy-dap-mp-tells-cops (BY SYED JAYMAL ZAHIID, 4/7/2013)
KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — DAP MP Lim Lip Eng today contrasted the police’s swift response to break-in at Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s home against what he described as slow or even lack of response to similar cases involving ordinary citizens.
The Segambut MP said that while the Royal Malaysia Police’s (PDRM) “efficient” response to the high-profile incident involving the youth and sports minister was welcome, there should be no double standards when investigating crime, before pointing to what he termed a low conviction rate of burglary cases involving the public.
“The police have managed to release pictures of the suspects involved in the break-in of Khairy’s house. I demand the same response for all victims. “I have received many complaints that when it comes to the regular people, no pictures have ever been released or even of the police not going to the victim’s house to follow up,” Lim told a press conference in Parliament here.
The home of Youth and Sports Minister Khairy was invaded last Saturday afternoon by three men who scaled the perimeter wall at the Bukit Damansara mansion before breaking in through the front door. No one, save for Khairy’s maid, was home when the men entered in the 5.30pm incident. The robbers made off with several laptops, watches and other valuables. Within days, police released the picture composites of two male suspects who were believed to be involved in the brazen daylight robbery.
Today, Lim claimed normal break-in victims would never enjoy such efficient response from the police. To support his claim, the DAP leader cited the authorities’ refusal to release the pictures of suspects involved in the murder of N. Dhamendran whose death while in police custody last month triggered a public uproar.
“I demand they release the pictures. If they fail to do so, that means they are Umno police and not for the people,” Lim charged.
Another DAP lawmaker, Tony Pua, previously said the burglary of Khairy’s house illustrated the reality of Malaysia’s dire crime situation, adding in a statement on Sunday night that Putrajaya could not afford to brush aside concerns over growing lawlessness as a “perception” problem any longer.
Prior to that, Khairy had on his Facebook page admitted that the incident was a stark reminder to all about the seriousness of crime in the country. “It is a real issue and not just merely a perception,” he said.
Putrajaya’s efficiency unit Pemandu last year reported a 10-per cent reduction in index crime for the first half of the year, along with an 11 per cent reduction the previous year and a 39.7 per cent drop in street crime for the same duration. The media was also blamed for reporting news of such cases. But these figures were quickly undressed by anonymous and former police officers as well as a crime watchdog who alleged the impressive reductions were nothing more than statistical sleight of hand.
The authorities had defended themselves from such accusations by insisting the numbers were not doctored and that the growing presence of anecdotal crime reports in social media was simply a “perception” rather than fact.
Related news: DAP MP tells cops not to discriminate between Khairy and public:http://www.fz.com/content/dap-mp-tells-cops-not-discriminate-between-khairy-and-public#ixzz2Y8vpVb80
Photofit out for KJ's burglars, but not for Dhamendran case? http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/234799

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