KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — DAP’s Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said public confidence was at risk after police failed to detain any of its own officers following the reclassification of the Durian Tunggal shootings as murder.

He said the public did not want a repeat of past failures, citing the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case as an example of how early inaction allowed a convicted policeman to flee overseas.

Lim warned that a similar pattern risked emerging in Melaka if the authorities failed to act decisively from the outset.

“In any murder case, the most basic procedure is to detain all individuals involved for the purpose of investigation.

“The Melaka police have still taken no action, raising the question of what they are waiting for and who is being protected,” he said in a statement.

He then called on Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail to speak up and provide a public explanation.

Lim said the public deserved clarity on who was responsible for the initial investigation and whether there had been attempts to conceal or distort facts.

His statement followed the Attorney General’s Chambers' decision to reclassify the probe under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

Yesterday, Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran had questioned why the probe had not been treated as murder from the beginning and urged police to expedite investigations.

On November 24, three men aged between 24 and 29 were shot dead by police in an oil palm plantation in Durian Tunggal, alleging they were gang members and had been  shot after one of them swung a machete at an officer.

Families and lawyers dispute this, citing a 13-minute audio recording of a phone call where one of the men made pleaded for their lives that preceded gunshots, suggesting cooperation rather than aggression.