DAP publicity bureau secretary Gobind Singh Deo called o­n Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai to suspend several senior police officers who were being investigated for corruption by the Anti-Corruption Agency.

In a letter to the police chief, he said it was important for the public to be aware that the police personnel they were dealing with were not being investigated upon, especially for corruption.

Gobind also urged him to keep the public informed o­n the steps taken against the senior officers involved.

A copy of the letter, dated April 15, was made available to malaysiakini today.

Intimidate witness

"It would not be wrong for me to state that the senior officers (being investigated) should not be allowed to continue to serve temporarily," said Gobind.

Otherwise, he claimed, the senior officers concerned would be in a position to intimidate witnesses.

When commenting o­n the matter last Tuesday, Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that police personnel who breached discipline or accepted bribes will be subjected to the same disciplinary action, regardless of rank.

"We don't care whether it's a senior officer or not ... as far as we are concerned, as long as the case needs to be investigated, the investigation must be conducted," said the deputy premier who is also the home minister.

Illegal gambling

It was reported that the police officers involved were from the same contingent headquarters and had been quizzed in a neighbouring country last month in connection with allegations of illegal gambling and money lending activities.

One of the officers concerned was said to have the honorific Datuk title, denoting that he was among the top brass.

Yesterday, Gobind issued a statement asking Johor police chief Mukhtar Ismail to state whether the officers were from the state.

In his capacity as DAP deputy chairperson for Johor Bahru, the lawyer-cum politician insisted that the state police chief suspend the officers pending investigations.