I was under constraint from my superiors, says cop

SHAH ALAM: A senior officer admitted that he was “under constraint” from his superiors, which included the former Inspector-General of Police, while investigating the murder of North Korean Kim Chol.

Asst Supt Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz told defence counsel Datuk Naran Singh du­ring cross-examination that the constraint came from “above”.

Naran, who represented second accused Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, bombarded the investigating officer with questions based on his testimonies in an earlier proceeding.

“Please name the superiors who gave this constraint? Was it the IGP at that time?” Naran asked, before prodding the witness further as he took his time to come up with an answer.

“My question is simple. Did the constraint come from the IGP then? You can answer yes, no or choose to remain silent,” Naran said.

The witness then answered that the constraint came from the IGP and the deputy IGP.

Naran: You receive your instructions from the Selangor Criminal Investigation Depart­ment?

ASP Wan Azirul: Yes.

Naran: Your investigation was controlled by the authority above?

ASP Wan Azirul: I disagree.

To this, Naran suggested that based on ASP Wan Azirul’s testimonies in October last year, the investigation was “incomplete and imperfect”, to which the witness replied: “I admit I have made mistakes.”

Naran: No, I said incomplete and imperfect. Not that you made a mistake. I know what mistake means. Do you agree with me that your investigation is incomplete and imperfect?

ASP Wan Azirul: I disagree.

Naran: What don’t you agree about?

ASP Wan Azirul: I don’t agree that it’s incomplete and imperfect.

Naran: So you’re saying it’s 100% complete? Is that what you mean?

ASP Wan Azirul: Yes.

The witness denied that he did not attempt to track the four North Korean men at large, who were implicated in the case.

“I have asked for help from Interpol to blacklist these men.

“If they come up on the radar in any location in the world, the information will be sent to Bukit Aman and me,” he said.

The witness was testifying in the trial of Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 26, and Doan, 29, who are jointly charged along with four men (still at large) with killing 45-year-old Kim Chol at klia2 on Feb 13 last year.