Fight crime, not name-callers, LFL tells cops

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Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) today urged cops to investigate real crimes instead of going after individuals who call the police forms names.

This comes as police announced that it will record Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali's statement after he asked if Inspector-General of police Khalid Abu Bakar is an "Umno lackey".

"This is a serious abuse of the Penal Code as the provisions, archaic as they are, were never meant to protect the police from public criticisms or insults.

"This latest case adds to the alarming increase of arrests and charges under the Penal Code that were brought against persons who had allegedly criticised or insulted police personnel," LFL executive director Eric Paulsen said in a statement.

Paulsen pointed out that in the last year alone, police have gone after at least three individuals for hurling insults at the force.

Batu MP Tian Chua (photo) was last August charged for insulting the modesty of the police under Section 509 of the Penal Code for uttering rude remarks after police seized his mobile phone, he noted.

The next month, an internet user was probed under Section 504 of the Penal Code for insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace after he likened Khalid to a Nazi general for a crackdown on a volunteer corps in Penang.

In the same month, a man was investigated under Section 499 of the Penal Code for criminal defamation after describing police as "monkeys".

"The authorities should acknowledge that the police suffer from poor public image but this is unlikely to be improved by the further abuse of power for something as frivolous as name-calling, which is not a crime no matter how unpleasant it may be," Paulsen said.

Paulsen said respect for the police force will not come by instituting fear but must instead come from public confidence in the force's integrity.

"The police can do wonders to their image by tackling corruption, abuse of power and death in custody cases.

"They should also stop targeting opposition politicians and dissidents for political offences, especially sedition and public assembly.

"We call on the police to go back to basics – to be a professional, impartial and competent police force in maintaining law and order, preventing and detecting real crimes and apprehending real criminals, rather than be concerned with frivolous matters like defamation, insult and annoyance against the police," he said.

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