PUTRAJAYA: The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) decided not to pursue its investigation on the police over alleged misconduct and “coordinated cover-up” of the Wang Kelian human trafficking syndicate as there was insufficient leads and evidence.

Its chairman Datuk A. Aziz A. Rahim said the oversight body had on Jan 23 last year met then New Straits Times (NST) executive editor Muzli Md Zin and reporter Farrah Naz Karim, who wrote an article in December 2017 alleging the cover up, to obtain details on the report.

However, following a separate meeting between top police officials and EAIC members on Feb 6 last year, the commission decided that no further action would be taken based on the information, or lack thereof, provided by NST.

“After the discussion with EAIC, we found no wrongdoing involving the police, as the NST representatives were unable to pinpoint any names (of police officers) nor prove their allegation of misconduct.

“So we decided that there was no evidence to support their claim of a coordinated cover-up,“ he told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the discover of human trafficking camps and mass graves in Wang Kelian today.

A. Aziz also denied Farrah’s claim that EAIC’s decision to drop the case might have been influenced by the police, as it was made following a meeting between the two parties and just days after she met with the commission.

“The meeting with the police was planned even before we called in the NST representatives. It was a courtesy call, as I had just been appointed EAIC chairman.

“The decision (to drop the case) only came after we raised the matter at the EAIC meeting on Feb 6. So the impression that we went to the police after meeting them is inaccurate,“ he said.

Farrah, when testifying at the RCI on May 9, had claimed she felt betrayed by A. Aziz, whom she claimed provided police with details of their meeting.

A. Aziz said none of the confidential information provided by Farrah was given to the police, and that he had merely asked the police for their version of the story, which he said proved their innocence.

Asked if the testimony provided by Farrah on the Wang Kelian syndicate was reliable, A. Aziz said some of the information was unverifiable as they were gathered from various sources, including the public.

Source : The Sun Daily Online

Date : 13/06/2019