IGP wrong about phone checks, says LFL

Summary

• Lawyers for Liberty condemns IGP Razarudin Husain’s claim that police can check mobile phones without question, calling it legally flawed and a threat to civil liberties.

• The group’s public defence coordinator Yu Ying Ying clarifies that police can only check phones during ongoing investigations or searches with reasonable suspicion, not during routine roadblock checks.

• Yu stresses that the legal provisions the IGP cited do not support mobile phone searches and reminds the public of their right to refuse unlawful police demands.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has condemned Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain’s recent statement that the police cannot be questioned when checking mobile phones at roadblocks.

The group’s public defence coordinator Yu Ying Ying argued that such remarks not only encourage unlawful police actions but are also legally flawed and pose a threat to civil liberties.

“It is legally wrong to say no one can question the authority of the police in checking phones.

“The police cannot check the mobile phones of the public except in the course of an ongoing investigation or search.

“Checks must be targeted at specific individuals connected or sought for within the ambit of a criminal investigation, and there must be reasonable suspicion of their involvement,” she said in the statement.

Routine checks ‘prohibited’

Razarudin previously stated that the police had the authority to check a person’s mobile phone based on reasonable suspicion.

He cited Sections 23(1) and 116B of the Criminal Procedure Code, as well as provisions from the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 and the Police Act.

However, Yu clarified that none of the cited provisions, including Section 3(3) of the Police Act, grants the police the right to check the public’s mobile phones at roadblocks.

“These sections do not authorise the police to check the mobile phones of whomever they please at roadblocks or elsewhere. Routine checks of mobile phones are prohibited by law,” she explained.

Yu pointed out that Section 249 of the CMA must be read with Sections 247 and 248, which allow police to inspect a mobile phone only during a search and when there is reasonable cause to believe a CMA offence has been committed.

READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | What to do when stopped by police

“Therefore, mobile phone checks by the police unconnected with an ongoing ‘search’ are not justified,” she elaborated.

Additionally, Yu said that neither Section 292 of the Penal Code nor Section 23(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code makes any reference to the police’s authority to search an individual’s mobile phone.

Yu stressed that the laws the IGP cited do not support his claim and reminded the public to be vigilant about their rights.

“The police must act only within the powers granted to them by law. Otherwise, their actions will be unlawful and subject to legal action or a claim in court for damages.

“The public is entitled to refuse to comply with unlawful demands by police personnel,” she added.

COMMENT | Best to obey police officers

147 police personnel sacked last year - Bukit Aman

'Selfish, dishonourable': IGP raps errant cops