RPK yet to give statement to police
By The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 — Raja Petra Kamarudin has yet to give a statement to Malaysian police in Bangkok following a dispute over the purpose of the police investigation, his lawyer said today.
The Malaysia Today news portal editor was asked to give a statement during his visit to the Thai capital yesterday but he balked when police wanted to record the matter under Section 203 of the Criminal Procedure Code which relates to making a false statement.
“No statement given to police last night,” his lawyer Haris Ibrahim told The Malaysian Insider by text message.
Raja Petra is the chairman of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) while Haris is the president. Both were in Bangkok to launch the Thai chapter of the movement that seeks to put better parliamentary candidates.
The latest update in the Malaysia Today website reported that police wanted to get Raja Petra’s statement over his TV3 interview in Perth, Australia. A police report was recently made against Raja Petra alleging that he lied in his TV3 interview, said the update.
It added that Haris and another lawyer, Amarjit Sidhu, had asked for a copy of the report and had wanted to know the reasons for the statement over the TV3 interview and not for the blogger’s June 18, 2008 statutory declaration.
“The police then said that Haris and Amarjit would have to go to the embassy to see a copy of that police report. Haris and Amarjit agreed to follow the police to the embassy but insisted that Raja Petra remains at the hotel.
“It is currently a stalemate and no decision has been made yet whether Raja Petra will consent to his statement being recorded even if is done outside the embassy grounds,” the report said.
The news portal also said the focus of the police investigation is apparently on the ‘lies’ in Raja Petra’s TV3 interview rather than the statutory declaration as initially announced.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said last night Raja Petra had agreed to give his statement to two Bukit Aman officers at the Malaysian embassy in Bangkok.
