The number of rape cases involving men impersonating as police officers appeared to be increasing. On New Year's eve, an 18-year-old university student from Kuala Lumpur was gang-raped by four men who claimed to be police officers.

The four men overtook and blocked the car driven by the girl in Taman Tun Dr Ismail at about 10pm. They claimed to be police officers and told her to open her car bonnet, and after checking, said that she had committed an offence. They then ordered her to follow them to a police station. The girl was driven along the North-South Expressway to the Tapah-Cameron Highlands road before she was raped in an oil palm estate.

Two days earlier, on Dec 28, a 14-year-old girl was abducted from her house in Jalan Puchong and gang-raped by four men. The men, who claimed they were police officers, were let into the house by the victim's mother. The victim was tied up and bundled into a waiting car and driven to an oil palm estate 12 km away before she was raped.

Apart from men impersonating as police officers to commit crimes, other cases that have tarnished the image of the police include the high number of unarmed people killed. Last April, the Parliament was informed that 635 people had been shot dead by police in the past 10 years.

One recent incident involved a 29-year-old doctor, Tai Eng Teck, who was fatally shot by the police on Sept 20 last year. The doctor, who was in a car with his companion, a 25-year-old nurse, died from three gunshot wounds near Bandar Tun Razak LRT station in Kuala Lumpur.

The policeman responsible was charged in court three days later with manslaughter. His father, Tai See Beng, has since instituted legal action against the government and the police.

Another incident involved the killing of five suspected kidnappers, including an eight-month pregnant woman, N. Selvamalar. The police shooting occurred in Taman Sungai Besi Indah in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 2, 1998, after a RM3 million ransom was paid for the release of the 11-year-old son of former Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib.