The anti-graft agency opened a probe into Ling and her husband, Sarawakian businessman Hah Tiing Siu – also known as Thomas Hah – in May last year for alleged corruption and money laundering offences.
In a statement today, it said an internal investigation confirmed that the officer in question was not involved in the probe into Ling, who was allegedly abducted while en route to the MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya last month.
The MACC said the officer has lodged a police report and filed an official complaint with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission regarding a video recording, which he described as defamatory and malicious.
“He strongly denies all accusations and has left the matter to the relevant authorities for further investigation into the individual responsible for spreading the false claims,” it said.
“MACC urges the public not to spread unverified or slanderous information, as it can mislead the public and disrupt the ongoing police investigation, which is currently being treated as a missing person’s case.”
After failing to comply with an MACC order to attend an interview, Ling was arrested in Singapore in January and extradited to Malaysia. She was remanded from Jan 9 to 11 before being released on MACC bail.
Ling’s family lawyer, Sangeet Kaur Deo, said Ling had her statement recorded on nine separate occasions after being released from remand, an issue which a former MACC chief commissioner said raised concerns about the integrity and legality of the investigation.
The e-hailing driver who drove Ling to the MACC’s headquarters on April 9 said her alleged abductors, who intercepted his car, were wearing police outfits.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Rusdi Isa said yesterday they might have worn the vests to impersonate policemen as there were no sanctioned police operations at the time of the incident.
Rusdi said police will examine the divorce proceedings between Ling and her husband as part of their investigation.
He also said police were exploring the possibility that Ling had staged her own abduction.