There is no written standard operating procedure (SOP) regulating the power to strip-search a suspect or the treatment of detainees while in police custody, said a former police officer.

Cop-turned-lawyer Sankara N Nair said the Police Act 1967 is the enabling legislation but routine law enforcement is regulated by the Inspector-General's Standing Order (IGSO), the Criminal Procedure Code (search and treatment) and Lock-Up Rules 1953 (detention).

As far as police administrative directives go, he said only the IGSO has the force of law or of persuasive legal authority.

"There are no other written guidelines, no such thing as SOP. Every decision and action must comply with the IGSO and this cannot be ultra vires the parent laws," he explained.

"As a gazetted regulation under the parent Act, the IGSO governs every decision and action the police make in the line of duty."

If at all the IGSO intended to allow for extra procedures, he said there must be a circular to that effect from the federal police administrative headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur.

"The SOP appears to be a set of practice the police have adopted over a period of time which is assumed to be within the IGSO and the governing laws," he said when asked by malaysiakini to draw on his experience in the force.

Wide meaning

Newspapers, quoting sources, have reported that strip-searches are normally done where detainees are suspected of concealing drugs, weapons or other harmful objects but police have yet to reveal the guidelines.

Sankara Nair, who has worked in various divisions including criminal investigation, the special branch and the field force, spoke to malaysiakini to share his experiences in the force which he left 16 years ago.

He felt that the police have chosen to go the maximum for the word 'search' which has a wide meaning under sections 19 and 20 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

On instructions of the 'hows' and 'whens' of arrest, detention and custody, he said these were usually relayed from the district chief down the ranks by the respective superiors.

"I can't speak on the current practice, but back then there was no handbook or written guidelines outlining strip-search methods," said the former assistant superintendent of police.

Section 97 of the parent Act empowers the top cop to make rules under the IGSO which contains the only prevailing set of procedures.

"But this has long since been overtaken by technological advances which has rendered the rules outdated, prompting piecemeal directives as the district chief thinks fit.

"So, over the years the SOP has developed without having it in proper written form. This is why lawyers believe the police don't have it (SOP)."

However, Sankara Nair, who had been an officer for eight years, said related procedures should be made law because there were times when a strip-search becomes necessary.

He said where a strip-search was justified, it must be done in a secure place within a locked room and witnessed by at least an inspector who should log everything in the station diary.

"Such procedures must be included in the IGSO or issued as a circular from Bukit Aman, and making it law prevents allegations as everything will be done properly," he said.

Noting that it was unfair to keep bashing the police, he said, this is why it is important to have an independent committee because it can root out the bad apples because not all are bad.

Checks with former and serving police officers on alleged abusive methods that have been reported as SOPs confirmed that they were indeed routine procedures.

Subjective decision

A serving police officer who declined to be named said a strip-search is routinely done where a detainee is suspected of concealing drugs - commonly known as 'roket' (rocket) due to its form when moulded in food-wrap plastic - in his or her private parts.

Exercises like ketuk-ketampi (ear-squats) and kangkang katup (leg-stretches) are also considered routine for suspected concealment of small weapons such as a flick-knife or blade.

"Where physical inspection is insufficient, the detainee is asked to strip to see if anything is concealed in the bodily orifices or crevices given that objects found are mostly drugs and small weapons."

He said the decision to strip-search is very subjective as it depended on the officer's "strong hunch as well as prevailing circumstances".

"There is no hard and fast rule here. We've even found items such as scheduled poisons being concealed."

He also said that as a matter of procedure, the detainee will first be asked to personally remove the concealed item(s), failing which he or she will be asked to strip and go through the motion that dislodges the suspected hidden items.