PKR’S central election committee’s (JPP) systems and IT head Alvin Teoh has been released on police bail after being questioned for almost four hours over allegations of tampering with tablet devices used in the party elections in Julau yesterday.

His lawyer, Yap Hoi Liong, told The Malaysian Insight that Teoh, 44, was questioned at the Sibu police district headquarters from 12.30pm to 4pm.

He was arrested at 9.45am today at the Sibu airport as he was about to fly home to Kuala Lumpur.

Yap said Teoh will leave tomorrow after furnishing his bail bond.

State Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt Mustafa Kamal Gani Abdullah said Teoh was picked up following a police report lodged by Selangor Batu Tiga assemblyman Rodziah Ismail at the Julau police station yesterday evening.

In her complaint, Rodziah said she saw Teoh checking the tablets one by one at the Willaim Mawan stadium polling station about 2.30pm.

She said she was then informed that the e-voting system used in the party elections had been hacked by the “Prey” (Prey Anti-Theft) malware, and suspected Teoh of being behind it.

Mustafa said police had also seized Teoh’s laptop, an iPad, two iPhones and five pendrives.

Mustafa added that Teoh was being investigated under the Computer Crimes Act 1977 for making an unauthorised change to the contents of a computer, the penalty for which is a RM100,000 fine and seven years’ jail, or both, upon conviction.

The results of voting in Julau, which initially showed incumbent deputy president Azmin Ali in the lead over rival Rafizi Ramli, have been suspended after police seized several tablets, JPP chief Rashid Din said earlier today.

The alleged malware “hack” has been dismissed by PKR’s central leadership committee candidate Zuraida Kamaruddin, who is allied to Azmin.

She said Prey was not a malware but a software to track and protect devices if they fell into the wrong hands.

Alleging it was an “inside job”, Zuraida said the JPP should reveal data on those who logged into the devices, as only members of the JPP would have had the passwords necessary to download the software. – November 11, 2018.