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MH370 mangosteens not from Muar, clarifies IGP

MH370 The police clarified today that the crates of mangosteens on Flight MH370 did not all come from orchards in Muar but were just packed in the Johor town.

This followed the assertion of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) that mangosteens were not in season in Johor when MH370 disappeared last month.

"I did not say they were from Muar, just that the suppliers were from Muar and that we will investigate to the extent (of who plucked the fruits).

"They were collated in Muar... before they were sent to KLIA (to be loaded onto MH370)," Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar explained at a press conference.

Berita Harian earlier reported that the tropical fruits may have come from Perak, where some orchards are still bearing fruit, despite the mangosteen being off season.

Khalid, who was largely tightlipped on the MH370 investigation, said that his comments on the mangosteens had caused the mangosteen supplier distress.

"The supplier called me to say 'Please don't let them know my name' because the press people are harrassing them.

"You (the press) can run after me but not everybody likes to be run after," Khalid said.

Flight's caterers too will not be identified

He said that this is also the reason why he will not reveal the identity of the flight's caterers, whom police are also probing.

This despite the joint venture between Malaysia Airlines Catering Division and LSG Sky Chefs Brahim Sdn Bhd & LSG SKY CHEFS Brahim Sdn Bhd being public knowlege, with MAS being is a public-listed company.

Khalid also dodged questions on whether all the passengers on MH370 has been cleared of wrongdoing, as he had previously declared.

He declined to clarify the contradictory statement from Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who said no one on board MH370 has been cleared.

"I don't like (for) you to cause (confusion)... the minister has said something and he has corrected it. He has said what he meant.

"I don't want to counter what he said... if you missed it, you need to ask your friends," he said, not budging despite being repeatedly asked.

He also told reporters to refer to the Department of Civil Aviation director general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman's statement on the identity of the person who said the last words heard from MH370.

Azharuddin confirmed that the last words were 'Goodnight Malaysian Three-Seven-Zero', but authorities are still investigating who said those words..

Khalid also refused to disclose the cargo manifest or reveal if there are any diplomatic pouches on MH370, citing "ongoing criminal investigations".

"The probe is ongoing and as at yesterday evening, more than 205 statements (have been recorded) and there are more to be recorded," he said.

He said that he could not reveal more as it could jeapordise possible prosecutions later.

"I'm sorry. This is a criminal investigation and I am not at liberty to say," he said.

He added that Malaysia continues to lead the investigation and when the black box is recovered, it will engage foreign experts to analyse the content.

"We don't have the experts to open up the black box and analyse the voice and flight data," Khalid said.

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