BATU PAHAT: The police have initiated their own clean-up within the force, including transferring 33 policemen, in the wake of a urine-tampering controversy in the state, says Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat.
Disciplinary investigation papers have also been opened on those implicated, he added.
Declining to elaborate on where they were sent, Kamarul Zaman said some are still in service while some have since retired.
“Those involved are being transferred to other departments and stations until the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) completes its investigation,” he said when asked to comment on the MACC’s ongoing investigation after the arrest of a pathologist and 33 narcotics policemen in Johor in a urine-tampering scandal since last year.
He said this in a press conference after officiating at the Sri Gading police station here yesterday.
The police clean-up came in the wake of the state health department carrying out its own purge by transferring 10 personnel from Hospital Sultanah Aminah’s pathology department.
Comm Kamarul Zaman did not disclose whether the policemen were transferred to other states or were still in Johor.
“Some of them have also since retired from the force,” he said, without revealing the number of retired policemen involved.
Asked if other action has been taken against the policemen, he said that they would wait for MACC to complete its investigation.
“The MACC’s probe is still ongoing. We have been in close contact with them on this case and have been giving them our fullest cooperation,” he said.
The Star had earlier quoted Johor health and unity committee chairman Ling Tian Soon that 10 pathologists had been transferred out of Johor in a sweeping shake-up following the case.
He said that in addition to the reshuffling of pathologists, the state had also reinforced all standard operating procedures (SOP) related to the handling of urine samples.
Ling also noted that Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi had been briefed about the case.
The Star had previously reported that a pathologist was at the centre of an extensive network involved in providing tampered urine samples in substance abuse cases for a fee between RM500 and RM1,500.
Caught in the web were 33 narcotics policemen of various ranks – an assistant superintendent, eight inspectors, 22 sergeants, a corporal and a lance corporal – from almost all of Johor’s 13 police districts.
One source said the 33 policemen were arrested in stages from June to September last year, and all of them have been released under MACC bail.
