Police have opened investigation papers (IPs) into a case where two of its personnel were alleged to have released a man suspected of raping a four-year-old girl in Kampung Kubu Gajah, Sungai Pelong, Sungai Buloh, last Thursday.

Selangor deputy police chief Abdul Rahim Jaafar said disciplinary action was taken on the duo by having them suspended immediately pending investigations.

He said based on the initial findings, police found that the two policemen did not adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) while carrying out their duties.

"We admit that such mistake should not have happened.

When someone hands over a suspected criminal to the police, necessary actions must be taken according to stipulated guidelines, more so in a rape case like this.

"If the investigation proves that they are guilty of causing the suspect to be released, we will not hesitate to charge these two officers in court," he told a press conference after attending the Royal Malaysia Police's Green Technologies and Practices Programme at the Bukit Gasing Educational Forest in Petaling Jaya today.

Abdul Rahim said the case was being investigated under Section 223 of the Penal Code for negligence, which provides for imprisonment for up to two years, a fine, or both, if found guilty.

As for the suspect in the rape case, he said police are still looking for the man, believed to be of a foreign nationality.

In the 1am incident last Thursday, the girl was alleged to have been raped by the suspect before he was nabbed by members of the public.

Subsequently, the two policemen arrived at the scene and brought the suspect to the Sungai Pelong station.

However, the two officers were believed to have released the suspect after the victim's mother refused to lodge a police report as she and her daughter did not possess valid travel documents.

Abdul Rahim said a report was lodged later by a doctor at the government hospital where the victim was treated, following her complains of pain in her genitalia.

- Bernama