Businessperson Albert Tei’s wife alleged that MACC officers were heavy-handed when raiding her home today, with the officers pointing a gun at the former before handcuffing him.
Recounting her ordeal, Tei’s wife, who wished to be known only as Lee, said the officers barged into their home through the main door.
“At the time, Tei was already heading downstairs before he was instructed to move to a corner.
“Soon, he was instructed to lie on the floor, and a few officers handcuffed him, with one pointing a gun at Tei from a distance,” Lee told Malaysiakini.
Once the officers were settled with Tei, Lee alleged that her other family members were instructed to move to another corner.
Subsequently, she claimed that the officers confiscated their mobile phones, including the children’s, purportedly to delete videos and images from the devices.
MACC has denied that its officers ever pointed a gun at Tei’s head and accused Lee of slander.
In a statement, its chief commissioner, Azam Baki, claimed that the arrest was carried out in accordance with established procedures.
“A police report has been lodged today to enable the relevant authorities to investigate the slander made against the MACC officers involved.
“The police report is also to ensure that no parties disseminate any unverified information, possibly with the intention of disrupting the investigation currently being undertaken by MACC,” he said.
“The police report is also to ensure that no parties disseminate any unverified information, possibly with the intention of disrupting the investigation currently being undertaken by MACC,” he said.
Raid in full tactical gear
Earlier, MACC officers in full tactical gear – including bulletproof vests and balaclavas – raided Tei’s home and escorted him into an unmarked black sedan.
His legal counsel, Zaid Malek, who recorded the video, was heard asking the officers repeatedly where they were taking Tei and to speak to the officer in charge, but to no avail.
Likening the authorities’ actions to an act of kidnapping, Zaid slammed the officers for acting unjustly and behaving in a way that “makes it seem like the law doesn’t exist in Malaysia.”
“Not a single MACC or police officer showed me their authority card.
The MACC (Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission) was set up to counter graft, particularly high level graft. They are supposedly intelligence led and deal with white collar criminals in the main…. like corrupt politicians.
Had there been a development in this case, after all a political secretary has just immediately resigned having been fingered by this now notorious whistleblower, they could have quietly driven round to Mr Tei’s house where he resides with his family and invited him to come with them to the station.
On past record there is nothing to indicate that Mr Tei would have resisted their request. Indeed, his earlier assistance in their enquiries has already resulted in two sets of charges being issued against senior political figures in Sabah for accepting his bribes for mining contracts.
And, as the veteran lawyer and politician Zaid Ibrahim has pointed out, there are ten others also implicated in the same scandal who are running in Sabah’s current election on behalf of the present government coalition. If Anwar’s political secretary set an example by immediately resigning, then what about them?
Instead of discreetly handling this latest expose, the MACC (for reasons that can only be divined) chose to create a spectacle the day before polling day in Sabah. A broad daylight snatch squad operation was conducted by armed masked agents in riot gear in front of a shocked neighbourhood, who naturally deployed their mobile phone cameras.
Troublingly, these agents appear to have been casual in their attitude to legal requirements refusing to produce their ID numbers or to indicate to Tei’s lawyer where they planned to take him.
What was the message they expected the citizens of Sabah to receive from this as they go to the polls tomorrow?
To re-enforce the ‘strong arm authoritarian’/ ‘don’t cross us’ image, when Tei’s distraught wife later complained that one of the armed officers had appeared to point his gun at her defenceless husband inside their house, the Head of the MACC came out to tell the media that she is now his target as well – for opening her mouth.
He said the official body has issued a police report to enable her to be investigated for the crime of ‘slander’ against the masked and anonymous MACC officers given these officers deny pointing a gun (why were they armed in the first place?).
Once again legal niceties are tossed aside in favour of intimidation.