Alleged abduction of Malaysia key graft case figure - possible fake cops, staged disappearance among latest twists

KUALA LUMPUR: The alleged abduction of a key witness in a Malaysia graft case by some people purportedly dressed in police uniform continues to grip public attention and dominate headlines in the country.

Since news of Pamela Ling Yueh’s disappearance broke on May 2 - more than 20 days after she was reported missing on Apr 9 – the case has seen various twists and turns.

These include a revelation that she was earlier arrested by Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, as well as allegations made by her lawyers against Malaysia's anti-graft agency and its rebuttal.

Adding to the drama, Malaysian police said  on Thursday (May 8) that they believe she is still alive and are probing a number of avenues, including cloned number plates used in vehicles linked to the alleged abduction, potential police officer impersonators and the possibility of a staged disappearance. 

"I am confident that she is still here (alive)," said Kuala Lumpur police chief Rusdi Mohd Isa at a press conference on Thursday.

He added that she has not left Malaysia based on her immigration records.

Ling, 42, is a Malaysian national and estranged wife of a prominent Sarawakian businessman, allegedly involved in a money-laundering case that has been under the investigation of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) since May last year.

Both Ling and her husband, Hah Tiing Siu or also known as Thomas Hah are being probed under the MACC Act 2009 and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities 2001 (AMLA), according to The Edge.  

One of Ling’s lawyers had revealed on Wednesday that her client had filed a judicial review just two days before her disappearance, alleging that the anti-graft agency had misused its powers to “exert pressure on her”.

The anti-graft agency has slammed the allegations and urged the public to end speculation over her whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian government is leaving the investigation into the alleged abduction to the police, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on Wednesday. 

The alarm was raised on Apr 9, when Ling did not appear at the commission headquarters in Putrajaya for her ninth attendance to provide further statements on the corruption case. 

According to her brother and lawyer, the e-hailing car that Ling was travelling in that day was intercepted by three unidentified vehicles and she was instructed to get into one of them.

Two other vehicles were also used to block traffic during the incident, according to Kuala Lumpur police chief Rusdi. 

He added that these vehicles were using cloned license plates, which were linked to vehicles that were already registered, according to the New Straits Times. 

“Pamela has not been seen or heard from since that afternoon. It has now been more than 20 days since her disappearance,” her younger brother, Simon Ling, said in a statement on May 2, as quoted by Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

He added that repeated calls and texts by her family and lawyer to her after 2pm that day went unanswered. 

One of Ling’s lawyers, N Sivananthan, who was scheduled to meet her at the MACC headquarters, lodged the police report on her disappearance later that day.

INDIVIDUALS POSING AS POLICE OFFICERS?

Meanwhile, the e-hailing driver ferrying Ling to the MACC headquarters claimed that he was made to end the ride on the Grab app just moments before Ling was forcibly removed from his vehicle by individuals dressed as police officers. 

“I was forced to press ‘complete job’ (on the app) before my MyKad and driving license were taken by people claiming to be police officers, after which the woman was forced out of the car and taken into one of the vehicles,” said the 55-year-old driver known only as Kok, as quoted by Harian Metro on Tuesday.

MyKad is Malaysia’s national identification card. 

Kok had picked Ling up from her apartment at the Velocity Tower in Cheras at around 1.29pm, according to The Edge. She was expected to arrive at MACC by around 2.08pm. 

“Two men and a woman got out of two of the cars (while) the third remained shut. The men wore police vests and the woman was in what looked like a police uniform. She came up to my car and told me that the woman (Ling) needed to be detained to assist in an investigation based on a police report,” Kok said. 

Despite initially refusing to get out, Kok said that Ling eventually agreed after the two men told her that they were just taking her to the nearest police station. He was also paid “over RM100” (US$23.60) for the ride by the individuals dressed in police uniforms. 

Kok said he later lodged a police report and could not work for two weeks while waiting for a replacement driver’s license.

Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain confirmed on Tuesday that they are aware of allegations that Ling was abducted by individuals dressed in police vests and said that investigations are ongoing, according to the Malay Mail. 

The police are also investigating whether the mother of three was taken by real police or individuals impersonating officers based on Kok’s testimony. 

Her disappearance is being investigated under Section 365 of the Penal Code for kidnapping and the police have recorded statements from at least 16 people, as of Wednesday.

Police are also not ruling out the possibility that Ling’s three children will be called as witnesses, Rusdi said on Thursday.

Local media had also confirmed on Tuesday that the police are also investigating the possibility that Ling's husband is a suspect in her alleged kidnapping.

Ling's husband is among the 16 individuals the police have recorded statements from.

ANTI-GRAFT AGENCY UNDER SCRUTINY 

Ling's other lawyer, Sangeet Kaur Deo, questioned the MACC for not filing a report of its own when she failed to arrive for her interview on Apr 9. 

“The question must be asked - did the MACC recognise this potential risk and did it alert the police to this possibility at the earliest opportunity so that appropriate lines of inquiry could be pursued?” Sangeet told The Edge, as quoted in a report on Monday. 

Sangeet, who is also representing Ling’s family, said the MACC had said through media reports that Ling was assisting in money laundering investigations. This means that she may have been in possession of crucial evidence, which she said could have “placed her in a vulnerable position”. 

“Disappearances under suspicious circumstances are becoming a disturbing trend in Malaysia. Each unresolved case chips away at public confidence in our institutions and the rule of law. Such incidents must never be treated as routine. There must be answers and accountability,” the lawyer said.

“For the police to now state there are ‘no leads’ is wholly unacceptable. A woman has vanished under highly suspicious circumstances,” Sangeet added on Monday, as quoted by the New Straits Times. 

Sangeet also said that Ling’s family has been “transparent and proactive” in cooperating with the authorities and the same is expected from the MACC and the police. 

MACC has slammed allegations that the commission failed to protect Ling as a witness and said that it was “unfair” to blame the agency.

“The public needs to stop speculating on this case and allow the police space and time to investigate it thoroughly,” MACC chief Azam Baki said on Wednesday. 

“You cannot blame us for her disappearance as the incident was beyond our control and occured on a public road, not within the MACC compound,” he told the New Straits Times. 

In her latest statement on Wednesday, Sangeet also claimed that MACC had subjected Ling to a systematic campaign of pressure over several months, reported the New Straits Times. 

She alleged that the MACC had remanded Ling “without proper legal basis” and imposed a travel ban on her without explanation, on top of exerting pressure on her to resolve a private dispute with her estranged husband instead of for legitimate investigative purposes. 

The MACC, in a statement also on Wednesday, rejected allegations of harassment or misconduct against its officers, describing the claims as “baseless”. 

The anti-graft body also said Ling’s judicial review application does not invalidate the investigation into her.

According to MACC, the probe was initiated into Ling and her husband in May last year for alleged corruption and money laundering offences, with the husband called in to give his statement. 

Her husband Thomas Hah is a founder of JoinLand Group, which has interests in the local and international business scene. 

The Star reported that Hah’s company, linked to a land deal on an island in Sabah’s northern Kudat district, had recently backed out of a controversial agro-development project. 

To complete its probe, the anti-graft agency had tracked down and summoned Ling to provide her statement at the MACC headquarters but she did not cooperate.

An arrest warrant was obtained on Dec 2 last year from the Putrajaya magistrates’ court for the offence of failing to comply with the order to attend an interview for the purpose of completing the probe, FMT reported. 

“Subsequently, on Jan 8, a joint operation with Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was launched (and) Ling was lawfully apprehended and brought back to Malaysia,” MACC said in its statement on Wednesday. 

Ling was then remanded from Jan 9 to 11 before being released on bail. 

Ling’s father told The Star that his daughter had been living alone in Kuala Lumpur since January after she was banned from travelling to assist in the MACC investigations. 

CNA has contacted Singapore’s CPIB for comments. Borneo Post reported that Ling had been residing in Singapore from 2008 until the January move. While in Singapore, she ran a property management company. 

According to MACC, it had also obtained an order from the deputy public prosecutor for Ling to surrender her travel documents.

“At this stage, our shared priority should be to provide full cooperation to the authorities so that efforts to locate and safely return Ling can proceed smoothly, safely and as swiftly as possible,” the anti-graft agency was quoted as saying by FMT. 

According to Ling’s lawyer Sivananthan, Ling and her husband were undergoing a contentious divorce in both Singapore and Malaysia involving a substantial estate, Malay Mail reported. 

As of Thursday, local media reported that no ransom demands have been made. 

This is not the first time the MACC is under scrutiny while conducting its probe.

In another high-profile case, former journalist Teoh Beng Hock died after being held for questioning overnight at the then Selangor MACC office in Shah Alam on Jul 16, 2009.

Malaysia’s Royal Commission of Inquiry concluded in 2011 that his death was a suicide but three years later, in September 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled that Teoh’s death from a fall was caused by “an unlawful act by unknown individuals”. 

Teoh’s family had filed a civil lawsuit in 2012, claiming compensation over sadness, loss of dependency and negligence by MACC, according to Malay Mail. 

In 2015, the defendants of the case - 10 MACC officers, the MACC and the Malaysian government - settled the civil lawsuit by agreeing to pay Teoh’s family RM600,000 in damages and RM60,000 in cost and admitted to negligence on their part which resulted in Teoh’s death. 

Teoh’s family members met Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Aug 1 last year, with the prime minister announcing that the government has agreed to reopen its investigation into Teoh’s death.