Deputy Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said apart from not wearing bulletproof vests, officers or personnel involved in intelligence work were also not supplied with heavy weapons, so as to hide their identities.
“During the incident, both of them were conducting intelligence work and were not on patrol duty. According to the standard operating procedures (SOPs), all security personnel on patrol duty must wear uniforms and protective equipment.
“However, when conducting intelligence work or going undercover, they cannot wear bulletproof vests nor carry heavy weapons,” he said after witnessing the handing over of duties for the Perak police chief here today.
He was responding to questions raised by netizens on why the two General Operations Force (GOF) personnel from the Senoi Praaq team did not wear bulletproof vests and were only armed with Walther P99 pistols.
In the 3.10am incident, Baharuddin, 54, was shot dead while Norihan, 39, was seriously injured. He subsequently received treatment at the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital, Kangar.
Acryl Sani said the Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department was reviewing the current SOP for patrol duty, intelligence work and prevention operations to ensure the safety of officers, personnel as well as the public.
Besides that, he said police had applied for 36 new armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to ensure the safety of personnel conducting patrols at border areas in Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and the Eastern Sabah Security Command.
He said that some of the current APC had been in use for more than 40 years.
Meanwhile, two more Thais were arrested in Perlis today, bringing to eight the number of Thai nationals nabbed over the fatal shoot-out at the Malaysia-Thailand border yesterday morning, IGP Abdul Hamid Bador said.
He said the two suspects were arrested at 7am at the border wall in Padang Besar, bringing to four the number of Thais nabbed in Malaysian territory after the shoot-out.
The other four suspects were arrested by Thai authorities in Thailand yesterday.
“We believe these two Thais could not escape because they failed to find a way to get past the border wall. So, when we (security forces) conducted ‘sweeping’ in the farms and bushes, we came upon these two.
“They have been taken for further questioning. We are in talks and will make an official application to the Royal Thai Police to hand over the four arrested in Thailand to face justice (in Malaysia),” Hamid said.