Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan is of the belief that it is not wrong to leak out police reports.

This is because, it is through leaked police reports that the people would know the truth; of who is lying or otherwise.

“If leaking police reports is wrong then whistleblowing is also wrong,” he said.

Sanjeevan’s ( photo ) response comes after several police reports were leaked in relation to the Low Yat Plaza incident.

A Low Yat Plaza trader had complained that he had been harassed over the leaking of his police report on the phone theft which had occurred at the mall.

The leak had resulted in his identity card number, house address and phone number being made public.

The trader was among two complainants in a widely circulated police report which documented the theft of a mobile phone from Low Yat Plaza.

Meanwhile, when pointed out that the intention of the person responsible behind the leak could be bad, Sanjeevan said this is why the reports should be verified.

“That’s why we should verify the reports when they are leaked, then no one can actually lie or twist the truth,” he said.

Praise for the police

He nevertheless had only praise for the police on how they handled the incident.

“The police handled the brawl very professionally and the inspector-general of police (IGP) should be commended for his openness in admitting that one of his men didn’t follow the standard operating procedure.

“Those people who are now defending the thief despite knowing the truth that he stole and were found positive for drugs are the actual people whom the police should investigate,” he said.

The incident, which occurred the weekend before Hari Raya had led to several people being injured after a gathering in front of the mall turned violent.

IGP Khalid Abu Bakar ( photo ) last Monday announced that those involved with spreading false stories were to be arrested, including controversial Umno blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, better known as 'Papagomo'.

Meanwhile, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive director Sevan Doraisamy believes that when such documents are leaked, it may be that those responsible for leaking them feel that a wrongdoing is happening.

“If there are procedures barring them to do so and they can’t do it publicly, that’s why they want to leak the documents secretly,” he said.

Asked whether the intention to create further chaos by leaking police reports is a possibility, Sevan admitted that it also depended on the particular content of the police reports as well.

“If it (leaking police reports) affects investigation, then information should be withheld.

“In this specific case, if the intention is to instigate riots, then the intention is obviously wrong,” he said.

He however pointed out that a lot of information is related to public concern and thus should be made public.