Silence not due to fear of Zahid, says IGP

 

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar explained that his refusal to comment on the case involving alleged gambling kingpin Paul Phua was not due to fear of his boss, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

"Come on, this has nothing to do with being scared of the boss.

"Like what I said, this issue is in proceedings (in the court in the United States).

"Those who talk a lot on this matter, they do not know laws and court procedures. I know (the procedures).

"I do not want to jeopardise the ongoing trial. Let it continue," he told reporters after attending a conference at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) in Kuala Lumpur.

It was not made clear whether the police chief was referring to lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (left) when he spoke about those "who talk a lot" about the case.

Also, Khalid dismissed the accusations that the government is cooperating with the mafia.

"How can? This is not a matter of accusing the government... when an issue is in trial, whoever issues statements could be asked to be a witness, so I do not want to jeopardise the trial," he said.

He further stated that 14K is a mafia group which has strong links with drug deals, but it has "never been" in Malaysia.

"We have very tough drug laws in this country, I don't think any 14K (members) would like to be in this country," Khalid said.

However, he did not rule out the possibility of Malaysians abroad being members of 14K.

Khalid also declined to reveal if Phua had any other criminal record in Malaysia when asked, stating that the police have been in contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) all along.

Khalid told Malaysiakini yesterday that he would not make any further comment on the issue as Phua was facing criminal charges in the US.

Instead, he advised Phua to focus on his charges.