The Malaysian Insight

BORDER patrol officers have been caught on camera accepting bribes to allow smuggling activities across the Malaysia-Thailand border.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Latheefa Koya today warned these officers that they are being watched.

“Don’t repeat this. We are watching you. And now, you know we are watching you.

“These officers have become too comfortable there,” she told a press conference at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.

Earlier, short video clips taken at the border showing smuggling activities were played to the media.

Latheefa said the commission now had sufficient evidence of corrupt practices among border patrol officers.

“This video shows smuggling activities along the border near Padang Besar in Perlis.

“We also have other videos and evidence of such activities along the border in Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah, and in Kelantan,” she said.

Latheefa said the recordings were from 2017 until May this year, and had been delivered to the MACC.

The MACC then verified the clips before revealing them to the public today.

Latheefa assured that the MACC would work with the police to track down all corrupt officers assigned to the border from 2017 to May.

“We have passed the evidence to the police to take the necessary action,” she said.

MACC forensics division senior superintendent Badri Azni, meanwhile, said security cameras in Padang Besar, Perlis, had caught officers accepting bribes and allowing smugglers from both Malaysia and Thailand to move goods across the border.

“The smugglers’ modus operandi is to meet these border officers, and clearly, they are offering something, maybe money, to these officers to allow the smuggling,” he said.

He also said the clips showed that such activities occurred when the officers changed shifts between 6am and 9am.

He added that the smugglers appeared at ease about crossing the border.

The security cameras also captured activities on the Thai side of the border, with people seen waiting with vehicles, such as motorcycles and four-wheel-drives, to transport the goods, he said.

“We can see border patrol officers allowing foreign vehicles to park on the Malaysian side of the border and pretending not to see them as they smuggle items like sugar and cooking oil.

“We suspect the smuggled goods to be flour, cooking oil, fertiliser, diesel and petrol,” he added. – October 18, 2019.