IGP: 157 police reports filed on election offences, 86 investigation papers opened

KOTA KINABALU (Nov 29): A total of 157 police reports have been received related to the 17th Sabah state election, said inspector-general of police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail.

From that figure, 86 investigation papers on various election offences have been opened.

Mohd Khalid said among the offences were removing party flags, vandalism of campaign posters, as well as issues of provocation and defamation on social media.

“All investigations are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law and several cases have been referred to the deputy public prosecutor for further instructions.

“Each case is assessed professionally. If there are elements of offences under the election law, strict action will be taken,” he said after inspecting the polling station at SJK (C) Chung Hwa here.

Mohd Khalid said several cases related to election offences have been referred to the Election Commission, while one case involving social media issues was referred to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Despite the high number of reports received, he described the overall election process as smooth, orderly, and under control.

“So far, there have been no major incidents that could affect public order, Sabahans have also shown a high level of maturity in fulfilling their responsibilities as voters,” he said.

Commenting on the weather conditions, Mohd Khalid said no cases of flooding have been reported so far, as the weather was good in the morning although it has been quite cloudy this afternoon.

He urged voters to come out to exercise their respective rights to ensure the smooth running of the election process.

All polling centres are set to close at 5.30pm.