The Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain has essentially echoed the statement by the Home Minister, stating that the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) will only conduct phone checks on individuals suspected in specific investigations. He also ensures that this will not happen randomly in public areas.
As quoted by Bernama, the IGP says that “this means there must be information, intelligence, or reasonable suspicion indicating that a person has committed an offence or crime, this making them a suspect”. He also reiterated that such checks will only be done by officers of Inspector rank or higher.
In case you missed it, Razarudin made the initial statement over a week ago in response to a video showing an individual questioning the legality of the police inspecting a person’s phone following their arrest. At the time, he cited legal provisions such as Section 23(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code which grants PDRM the authority to do so.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has also said more recently that there are still instances where the police need to inspect smartphones, such as when a suspect has information on terrorism and the police have intelligence to believe so. He added that “it’s about ensuring actions are not taken indiscriminately. Police must act based on intelligence and legal grounds”, which the IGP has repeated.
(Source: Bernama)
