By Brad Rantayy
MIRI, Jan 18: Minister for Transport Sarawak Datuk Lee Kim Shin has reiterated the need for the Miri Central Police station building along Jalan Raja here to be upgraded to better serve the community.
This call was made following a rape incident that occurred in the Miri police station lock-up recently. The incident has created a public outcry nationwide.
Lee, during a press conference held here today, urged the Federal government to include this proposal in the 12th Malaysia Plan.
In 2018, Lee who was then Assistant Minister for Touriam, Arts and Culture, had also proposed the existing police station building to be upgraded into a bigger space with better facilities.
In the incident at the Miri Central Police station, a female detainee, aged 16, was allegedly raped by a male detainee while being placed under police custody on January 9.
The victim, was detained by the police for her involvement in an illegal online gambling activity, the day before the incident occurred.
For the record, the Miri Central Police station has been in the same building since the 1950’s.
“The city (Miri) has been growing, and now with a population of more than 300,000, we need a better facility to allow greater efficiency in the police operations,” he opined.
“I hope the federal government and Bukit Aman give serious consideration to the proposal,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Sebastian Ting pointed out that the lock-up standard operating procedures needed to be restudied to avoid similar incidents from occurring in future.
Also present during the press conference were Miri Acting Resident Abdul Aziz Yusuf and Miri Mayor Adam Yii. — DayakDaily
