Missing firearms: Disciplinary action taken on 24 officers

Twenty-four police personnel have been slapped with disciplinary action for the 44 Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM)-issued firearms which were reported missing between 2010 and 2012 as disclosed in the 2012 Auditor-General's (AG) report.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said, the disciplinary action had been taken on these personnel before the report was unveiled.

"In 2010, action were taken on 13 police officers, another 13 police officers in 2011 and seven were slapped with disciplinary action last year.

"The rest are still under investigation," he said in reply to a question by Seremban MP Anthony Loke in Dewan Rakyat today.

Wan Junaidi said, if firearms were lost due to negligence, a standard operating procedure (SOP) has been made available for police officers to report on the matter.

"The investigation papers will be sent to the Inspector-General of Police for further action. Another copy may also be sent to the Attorney-General if required,” he said, adding that a new SOP will be implemented soon to minimise such cases.

Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi said some 1,097 illegal firearms have been seized by police from 2008 to 2013.

"Most of them are those smuggled in through the nation's borders as well as those manufactured locally.

"Among the firearms seized include 406 automatic pistols, 164 Revolvers, 31 Rifles, 91 shotguns, 120 air pistols, 22 pump guns, 7 sub-machine guns (SMG), 38 hand grenades and 218 homemade firearms," he said.

Wan Junaidi said, all those which had been seized would also be used as exhibits during court proceedings.

"The police have a specific SOP in handling case exhibits under the Inspector General Standing Order (IGSO).

"At the end of proceedings, the court will decide whether to destroy the firearms."

The 2012 Auditor-General's report, released on Oct 2, found that the police had lost assets worth RM1.33 million over the past three years including 156 units of handcuffs, 44 units of firearms, 29 vehicles, 26 walkie-talkies, 22 radios, six cameras, four computers, a handphone and 21 unspecified items.