Cases of police personnel involved in criminal cases or misconduct in Penang are isolated, says the state police chief.

Abdul Rahim Hanafi described the number of offenders as small, as compared to the overall police staff strength of 5,817.

He said only a few members of the force were involved in criminal cases and it was not fair for the public to blame the entire police force.

“Do not blame the police in general, as we have trained our members well. What had taken place were acts of an individual nature,” he told reporters after a community policing programme with residents of Pulau Aman in Batu Kawan today.

He was commenting on the two Penang policemen who were charged with raping an Indonesian woman on Nov 9. Yesterday, another policeman was alleged to have raped a girl.

Abdul Rahim said he had taken several new approaches to stem police misconduct in Penang.

“I have taken several approaches such as having a series of meetings with senior officers and personnel at each police contingent, police district headquarters and district police head offices throughout the state,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abdul Rahim said the crime index from January to yesterday in Penang was lower by 18 percent, attributing the lower crime figures to public cooperation.

- Bernama