GEORGE TOWN, July 14 — Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain today clarified that police have the right to enter any private premises with the intention of arresting a suspect without a warrant.
He said while owners of private premises have the right to refuse entry to anyone, if the police were there to raid the premises, they have right of entry.
He was commenting on a Facebook Live video by a female occupant of a condominium here who had refused to let a team of plainclothes policemen enter her home two nights ago.
Mohd Shuhaily said anyone who refused to cooperate with the police could face charges under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant from discharging his duty.
The section carries a jail term of up to two years or a fine of up to RM10,000 or both upon conviction.
In the case two nights ago, he said the woman had doubts about the identities of the policemen outside her house and that she was being careful.
“Our team from Dato Keramat helped and after she was convinced that they were real policemen, she cooperated fully and allowed them in,” he said.
Last night, Nilai district police chief Mohd Fazley Ab Rahman issued a statement explaining that the raid was in relation to Op Pelican.
He said the team from the Nilai commercial crime unit, together with officers from the Dato Keramat police station, went to a condominium unit in George Town at 11pm on July 12 to trace a suspect in relation to a cheating case.
He said the team had introduced themselves and showed their police IDs to the woman and the raid was conducted in accordance with the law and regulations.
He also said the suspect was not found inside the unit and no seizure or arrests were made that night.
The woman had recorded a Facebook Live video around midnight to 2am showing a team of plainclothes policemen outside her door, demanding that she open it.
One of them carried a set of bolt-cutters and told her to open the door or they would prise open the door grille.
She refused to believe that they were real policemen despite them showing her their police IDs, with one of them even telling her to call 999 to confirm that they are real policemen.
The standoff finally ended after two uniformed policemen arrived and assured her that the group of men waiting there were real police.
