Investigating officer Inspector Khor Yi Shuen said witnesses had mentioned the suspect, known as “Rozain” and he decided to investigate the matter.

“The name ‘Rozain’ was mentioned to me when I interviewed the witnesses.

“I managed to trace Rozain and investigated him in Dec 2017.

“I found that he was not directly involved in the case and there was no evidence to link him to the disappearance.

“He was investigated but there was no arrest because there was no link,” Khor said on Day 5 of the inquiry into the disappearance of Amri.

Khor, however, admitted that he never showed Rozain’s picture to the witnesses for their verification.

“There was no link so I did not see the need to (show the picture).

“In my opinion it’s a waste of time to do so, so I didn’t,” he said when answering questions from Suhakam observers and Amri’s family lawyer.

The third witness, Mohammad Faisol Abdul, who is Amri’s friend, had told the inquiry in January that a man known as “Rozain” was involved in the activist’s abduction.

Faisol, however, said he received the information from someone who had heard it from two other people.

He also admitted to not knowing Rozain, who he claimed hailed from Kangar.

Amri, who co-founded Perlis Hope, has been missing since Nov 24, 2016.

The Suhakam inquiry is also investigating the disappearance of Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife, Ruth. The couple were last seen on Nov 30, 2016.

The inquiry had also included the case of Pastor Raymond Koh who has been missing since February last year after he was abducted by some 10 men in Petaling Jaya.

However, the inquiry could not continue with Koh’s case after a suspect was charged with kidnapping the pastor.