Eighty-three held under Poca from Jan 1-March 10

KOTA BARU: A total of 83 individuals nationwide have been detained under the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) 1959 from Jan 1 to March 10 this year.

A member of the Crime Prevention Board (LPJ) under the Home Ministry, Datuk Khalil Azlan Chik said from the figure, 12 were placed under the detention order while another 71 individuals were placed under the surveillance order.

He said LPJ received many case files for action either to issue a police detention order or a surveillance order against hardcore criminals who cannot be prosecuted by the courts due to certain problems.

"It is difficult to accuse a person in court without proof. However, there are testimonies about the involvement of individuals and their files have already been submitted.

"Action can only be taken after we have gone through the processes at Bukit Aman and the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).

“The enquiry officer would also have to meet the detainee before making recommendations to LPJ for further action,” he said to reporters after launching the Melor police station here.

Also present were Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun and Kelantan Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department (JPJKK) head ACP Mit Emong.

Khalil said since Poca was introduced on April 2, 2014 until March 10, action has been taken against 10,012 individuals under the Act.

A total of 2,673 individuals were placed under the detention order while another 6,537 individuals under the surveillance order, and another 802 individuals were released.

As of Feb 28, a total of 425 individuals are still placed under the detention order while another 2,166 individuals are still under surveillance order.

This brings the total number of those who are still under detention and surveillance orders at 2,591 individuals.

"In Kelantan alone, there are a total of 127 individuals from outside the contingent registered under Poca placed in various police stations in this state,” he said.

Khalil said based on the 2021 statistics, a total of 1,190 people had action taken against them under Poca compared with 1,968 in 2020 in several areas including Simpang Renggam, Pokok Sena, Bentong and Bintulu.

He said most of the cases involved drug-related crimes and criminal fraud through the Internet.

"We also discovered that most of them are aged between 30 and 40. The youngest to date is an 18-year-old individual while the oldest is 73 years old.

"The purpose of the order is to initiate police-society collaboration to guide the individuals into becoming useful individuals. We hope after two years, they will be rehabilitated and released to their home states,” he added. - Bernama