All CCTV cameras along pastor’s abduction site were not working, Suhakam hears

15th Nov 2017

On the fifth day of Suhakam’s public inquiry into Pastor Koh’s disappearance, ASP Supari Muhammad told the panel that the non-working CCTV cameras affected their investigation. He said this in response to a question posed by the Koh family’s lawyer, Jerald Gomez, about why there were no security footages from the junction of Jalan Majlis and Jalan Bahagia even though there were a lot of cameras there, Free Malaysia Today detailed.

“We wrote to MBPJ about these faulty cameras, but they gave excuses that they do not have the money to maintain them,” Muhammad told the panel. “Yes, I agree that it would help us fight crime better with all these cameras in working order.”

In addition, Muhammad said traffic police cameras only function during accidents. However, they were also not working during Koh’s abduction.

He said: “I do not know the date when these cameras broke down. MBPJ told me they were not working on the 13th (of February, the day of the abduction).”

He added that it was the victim’s family that had acquired the lone footage of the abduction, not the police.

Muhammad also said there was another recording along the Damansara-Puchong Highway which could have been taken before the abduction. However, he shared that it could not be produced as evidence as it could affect their investigation. Gomez, on the other hand, accused the police of suppressing evidence since their story did not jive with the evidence obtained by Koh’s family.

Last month, a witness named Roeshan Celestine Gomez told the Suhakam that Pastor Koh’s abduction in broad daylight resembled that of a police operation because it was very well-coordinated. The witness was reportedly driving to a crematorium with a female friend when they chanced upon the scene, The Malay Mail Online reported.

In addition, the witness recalled what might have been an attempt to intimidate him in June, a few days before his presence was requested at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters for an identity parade. He said someone broke the left rear window of his car and took his laptop bag which contained his personal statement for the Suhakam. The same bag was found in front of a friend’s house after he appeared before the panel on July 17.

Link to article at: http://www.christiandaily.com/article/all-cctv-cameras-along-pastors-abduction-site-were-not-working-suhakam-hears/61472.htm