KUALA LUMPUR: An off-duty police constable tried to jump queue at an automated teller machine (ATM) on Saturday by identifying himself as a policeman and flashing his badge to the first person in line.
According to an English news daily, the constable then demanded to use the ATM machine, located at Publika Solaris, first.
Unfortunately for 31 year-old, the person he was addressing happened to be an off-duty senior officer from another state.
In response, the senior officer identified himself and demanded that the suspect display his authorisation card, the daily reported.
The constable refused to do so and raised his voice to start an argument, before fleeing the area.
But the two bumped into each other again elsewhere in the mall, and when asked again by the senior officer to display his authorisation card, the constable issued a threat that he had “big connections”.
The senior officer alerted the mall’s auxiliary police, and the suspect was promptly located and arrested.
The story would end there, if not for the fact that an investigation revealed that the constable has four criminal records, two acquired before joining the force, and two after. The offences include criminal intimidation and cheating, reported the daily.
Once the story emerged on social media, Malaysian netizens were outraged.
Facebook user Anwar Majeed questioned how repeat criminals could join the police force.
“How do the police vet the applicants?” he asked.
Another netizen, Maran Chelliah, wrote: “Police vetting is a must for all reputable companies, especially security companies, during employment. Surprising that the police are not doing the same.”
Yogi Gilla commented that the police’s standard operating procedure for recruiting police personnel has dropped so low, that those with criminal records are even accepted into the police force.
According to the daily, the suspect joined the force in 2012 and was stationed at Sungai Besi police station.
The case is reportedly being investigated under the police’s Integrity and Standard Compliance Department (JIPS).
The New Straits Times’ attempts to contact Federal department chief Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman on the matter proved futile.
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