By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 20: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan has claimed that it if the police were to demand the presence of individuals by making phone calls, without providing proper written notification as required by law, it is an “abuse of power”.
According to Voon, he had received complaints regarding law enforcement officers requiring members of the public to be present in their office by way of making phone calls to them.
“In certain cases, they (persons of interest called by the police) could not get access to their lawyers and members of their families.
“The law is clear that when police wants you to come to the police station, the law requires that you need to be informed in writing the reasons as to why you are required to see them.
“There is no legal obligation to see them (the police) until the letter made under Section 111 Criminal Procedure Code is served on you,” said Voon in a statement today.
Section 111 stipulates that a police officer conducting an investigation may issue a written order requiring the attendance of any person acquainted with the circumstances of the case.
Failure to comply with such an order may lead to the issuance of a warrant by a magistrate.
Voon said Section 111 is the section that gives the power to the police to call a person of interest and if the person refuses, then the police may report him or her to the Magistrate who may then issue a warrant.
“This ‘summons’ would typically be done in writing, which also helps you differentiate from scammers and the actual police.
He then warned individuals against immediately complying with phone calls from the police requesting their presence at the station, as doing so may lead to potential abuse of power and even arrest without proper legal notification. — DayakDaily
