On Wednesday, Arifai issued a media statement to announce that his solicitors had written to FMT, demanding an apology and the retraction of the two articles which he claims were libellous and had tarnished his image.

Arifai claimed that the articles, “Under-fire Gombak police chief transferred to Integrity Unit” and “Ketua polis daerah Gombak ditukarkan ke Unit Integriti Bukit Aman” constituted false reporting and had smeared his reputation and questioned his integrity.

In a letter to FMT dated May 19, law firm Adam Aziz & Co also demanded RM10 million in damages, warning that the police chief will commence legal action if his demands were not complied with.

“(The articles) gave the perception that the police and myself were responsible for a custodial death,” he said in the media statement, referring to an incident involving A Ganapathy, who died in hospital on April 18. Ganapathy had been detained by police since Feb 24.

FMT, however, is standing by its reporting.

“We believe there was no inference of any wrongdoing or misdeeds whether on the part of the police force as a whole, the particular officer or anyone else in the report,” FMT managing editor Dorairaj Nadason said.

“Our solicitors will respond appropriately and take the necessary action to defend our journalistic integrity,” he added.

Citing a press release issued by Bukit Aman, FMT had, in the articles in question, reported that Arifai was among the 12 senior officers who would take on new positions. Arifai would become the new assistant director (investigations/legal) in the Integrity and Standards Compliance Department on June 21.

Ganapathy’s death and the subsequent criticisms by his relatives and lawyers were included as part of the background to the story. The case is under the jurisdiction of Gombak police.