Sarawak Police Commissioner Talib Jamal, who is one of the country's highest-ranking cops, is being investigated for alleged criminal breach of trust involving the police cooperative.

According to sources, he was among the five police officers quizzed over a report lodged by a cooperative director in Kuala Lumpur last year.

The 55-year-old director had alleged that RM250,000 was 'siphoned' in the pretext of paying out commissions for the sale of RM15 million worth of shares of several companies listed on the main board.

The five are all still serving office bearers in the cooperative, which was formed in 1928 and has now grown into a conglomerate with more than RM720 million in assets.

Contacted today, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan refused to comment beyond saying that the case is still being investigated.

However, Kuala Lumpur police chief Mustafa Abdullah told malaysiakini later that the investigation papers have been submitted to the Attorney-General's Chambers and the decision for further action lies with the latter.

He also said that the state police chief in question, whom he refused to identify, has not been suspended as it is still merely an allegation.

Talib, who was the former federal police deputy director of management, assumed the post of Sarawak Police Commissioner on March 3 last year and stressed, among others, that he would not compromise on corruption.

The 54-year-old Talib, who holds a degree in Engineering and a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, joined the police force in 1970 as a probationary inspector.

Family members involved

The scam came to light following a report in The Star last month, which quoted Musa as saying that investigations have been completed and the case was investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

According to the daily, the director who filed the police report claimed that the payments were made from the cooperative funds without proper verification of the agreement, procedures or documentation.

An unidentified cooperative official was also quoted as saying that some of the individuals involved in the scam could be family members of a very senior person in the organisation who was paid a five-figure income and given a company car.

"The new board of directors, who took over several months ago, discovered the irregularity when they came across audit reports that showed that commission payments for the sale of the shares had already been made to an appointed securities company," he added.

The daily also stated that officers from Bukit Aman and the city police commercial crimes unit questioned bankers, remisiers and officials from the cooperative during the two-month probe.

Meanwhile, the Malay Mail today reported that the AG Chamber's had instructed the police to interview several others in connection with the case.

The tabloid also stated that the police top brass were 'concerned' that the state police chief, whom was not named, had a built a house in Shah Alam worth more than RM2 million.