A senior criminal lawyer has questioned newly-appointed Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi statement in describing three persons who were taken in by police on Friday as not being arrested.

Baljit Singh Sidhu, who is a member of the Malaysian Bar Criminal Law committee, said what Zahid, who is also home minister, said over the three not being arrested was legally wrong.

“If it is not arrests, why the move to remand them and allegedly have them brought to court?

“If they are witnesses, then they should be given a Section 111 statement under the Criminal Procedure Code. In addition, the law only allows arrest and detention of potential suspects but not of potential witnesses,” he told Malaysiakini when contacted.

Baljit ( photo ) said he therefore felt the home minister's statement was not accurate in describing the holding of the three as not arrests.

It was reported on Friday that former MACC adviser Rashpal Singh Jeswant Singh and an officer from the Attorney-General's Chambers, Jessica Gurmeet Kaur were picked-up   followed by a remand application later which failed.

Police then swooped in on MACC deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Sazilee Abdul Khairi early Saturday morning raiding both his office and his home.

It is understood that Ahmad Sazilee spent a day in the lock-up.

'An investigation'

After the launching of the Kepong Umno division's Wanita wing's meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Zahid  had told reporters that the police had merely wanted to record  the trio's statements on allegations that confidential government information was leaked to  whisteblower website Sarawak Report, among others.

"The detentions by police were not arrests but only an investigation and to record statements,” the newly-minted DPM said.

Today meanwhile, police recorded a statement from MACC's special operations director Bahri Mohamad Zin in relation to the ongoing probe.

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