State executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow has questioned why the police took offence at his remark that the force was slow to reveal a CCTV recording which showed the fallen Menara Umno’s lightning arrestor burying a vehicle in a crater along Jalan Macalister.

Chow said Penang police chief (CPO) Abdul Rahim Hanafi’s remark yesterday that his men have to make a request from Penang Municipal Council’s (MPPP) technical unit to reveal the recording was “not true”.

Abdul Rahim had also urged Chow and the MPPP not to blame the police for failing to detect the mishap which occurred on June 13 after violent winds hit Penang, killing three.

NONE Chow ( centre in photo ) said the CPO should have launched an internal probe to find out about the matter as the CCTV’s revelation would have affected the way the search and rescue work was carried out.

“Either he (the CPO) was probably not briefed by his officers or he is ignorant about the CCTV system,” said Chow in a press conference today.

“There are two sets of CCTVs on Penang island managed by MPPP.

“In 2004, the cabinet instructed that CCTVs be installed to check crime and snatch thefts in public places,” he explained.

“These recordings are monitored by police all the time (24 hours) and were installed by the force, they chose the hot spots,” Chow added.

The affected vehicle belonged to hawker Lim Chin Aik, 44, who is believed buried in the crater created by the fallen lightning arrestor. However, the Search and Rescue Team failed to discover his body despite digging several metres underneath the crater.

Abdul Rahim issued the comment after Chow and MPPP secretary Ang Aing Thye announced that a technician had been transferred from the department after he failed to report about the accident to his bosses.

During that press briefing, Chow also said police and the Fire and Rescue Department were aware of the CCTV recording showing how the car was buried by the concrete, but did not act on the matter.

CCTV viewing from three sites

Meanwhile, Chow said in 2008, 31 cameras were installed which could be viewed from monitors at the 13th floor of Komtar (MPPP’s operations and control department), in the police headquarters in Jalan Penang and at the Northeast Police HQ in Jalan Pattani.

The purpose was for the police to monitor security, combat crime and traffic management, Chow said.

MPPP monitored the recordings for traffic control and has no authority to facilitate crime investigation, he added, further saying, “We don’t run after snatch thieves or criminals.”

“What you can see at the MPPP control and operations room can also be seen at the two police HQs,” said Chow.

In 2011, the federal government installed another 23 cameras at various locations, and this time viewing was restricted to MPPP and the police headquarters in Jalan Penang.

“MPPP only monitored the CCTVs during office hours but the police HQ does it around the clock, so it is not true that they have to ask permission from MPPP to do it,” said Chow.

“The recordings are kept for 40 days, after which it would automatically be deleted, if not saved,” he added.

Chow said the MPPP had never asked the police to seek its permission to use the system as the force reviews the recording to issue about 500 traffic summonses on a daily basis.

After the press event, Chow took reporters to the 13th floor to see how the CCTV system works, showing a very clear version of the recording of the accident at Jalan Macalister.

Menara Umno certifiers issued stern warning