Kota Kinabalu: Sabah police took their hats off to their colleagues, the press and public for their role in swiftly bringing to heel two men who kidnapped, assaulted and raped a Universiti Malaysia Sabah student last week.Sabah Commissioner of Police, Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the men would still be at large if not for the media and alert public.
"We were all shocked by the kidnappingÉthe success could not have been achieved if not for the quickness of the media to publicise the news and the details of the suspects," he said at an appreciation dinner at the Police Officers' Mess on Friday.
"Congratulations should also go to the Keningau police who were vigilant to track down the culprits and the public who assisted in their capture, without thinking of their own safety."
He heaped extra praise on the media for following the chain of events through to the end. "A thank you to the media for highlighting the case, even to the moment where the culprits were charged and sentenced. "I hope in future we can always work together and complement each other É I am grateful for the press here. We work well as a team," he said.
He said the media had the power to shape the perception of the public on anything they choose to, especially on enforcement agencies like the police force, once again praising the Sabah media for its accuracy in reporting.
"To be frank, in my opinion, I am a bit uncomfortable dealing with the press, say in Kuala Lumpur É not all but some. They tend to sensationalise stories in a wrong way," he said.
Nevertheless, Noor Rashid contended the Sabah media had its fair share inaccurate coverage on certain issues. "There are inaccurate news like cigarette-peddling street children who were purportedly involved in drug distribution.
"I asked my narcotics officers about it but they told me they had no information on this. But I always think positive É perhaps there was no information but maybe there is something behind it and I tell my men to keep a lookout anyway," he said.
