Special recognition: Insp Logeinthira (right) receiving a certificate of appreciation from Comm Kumar. (Inset) DSP Ramlee and Kpl Yeo.
JOHOR BARU: Growing up, Insp K. Logeinthira was enraptured by tales of his grandfather’s experiences as an auxiliary policeman during the Japanese Occupation in World War II.
“He told me about transporting food to police officers who were hiding from the Japanese army,” he said.
Insp Logeinthira said he spent hours listening to his grandfather C. Arumugam recounting his adventures.
“My grandfather told me all kinds of stories from his time as an auxiliary policeman. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them,” he said.
This, he said, had inspired him to pursue a career in the police force.
“Unfortunately, my grandpa didn’t get to see me in my uniform as he passed away in 2011, two years before I became a policeman,” he said.
On Friday, the 35-year-old inspector was among 17 policemen who received special recognition for their work in solving the kidnapping case of a 59-year-old businessman involving a RM20mil ransom.
“If he were still alive, I’m sure he’d be very proud of me,” he said of his grandfather who died at the age of 99.
Insp Logeinthira was one of the policemen who had worked on the case of the businessman who was kidnapped in the early morning of Oct 13, 2024 and released later that afternoon.
Overall, 14 people, including the victim’s wife, were arrested.
About RM7mil of the ransom was recovered.
The wife was charged two months ago with conspiring in the case.
Another recipient of the special recognition was the head of intelligence at Marine Police Region II, Deputy Supt Ramlee Ahmad Tabon, 48.
He spoke about the ironies of life, saying that he had always wanted to join the army while his brother dreamt of becoming a policeman.
“The funny thing is I ended up becoming a policeman, but my brother didn’t make it into the police academy.
“He joined the army, which was something I had always aspired to do after watching a lot of old movies,” he said.
DSP Ramlee said that four of 11 siblings in their family had joined uniformed bodies.
As for Kpl Yeo Lee San, 35, she made a major career shift 12 years ago by quitting her job with a newspaper in Sarawak to join the police force.
“I was with the advertising department at Sin Chew Daily for about five years before deciding to challenge myself and try something new.
“It was a huge leap of faith but it didn’t feel too difficult as I had strong support from my family,” she said.
A total of 71 people received a certificate of commendation from Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar, including the 17 policemen and four civilians.
