PENANG police have clarified that their top priority is to receive reports from complainants and not whether their attire is appropriate while lodging the report.

Penang police chief Khaw Kok Chin said this while commenting on a media report of a man claiming that a policeman told him to change into long pants before lodging a report on a theft on Thursday night.

Khaw said the department was investigating the incident and would take appropriate action against the personnel involved.

“Penang police always practise the concept of serving the community and those who come to the police station seeking help.”

“So the priority is to receive a report and take immediate action to help a victim. It is not about appropriate or inappropriate attire when lodging a police report,” he said.

Khaw said based on a review, the “order” for the man who wanted to make a police report to change into trousers was made by a member of the police volunteer reserve (PVR) who was on duty at the police station’s guard post at the time.

“The PVR member then referred to his supervisor, a member of the Royal Malaysia Police who was on duty at the time. We are conducting further investigations and will take appropriate action,” he said.

Several news portals reported that the 34-year-old complainant was dining at a hawker centre in Bukit Tambun with his family before finding his car window smashed.

In the incident, the victim lost RM800 in cash and the passport of his wife who is a Chinese citizen, before hurrying to the Simpang Ampat police station to make a police report.

However, the police officer on duty told the man clad in shorts to change into trousers first, but the complainant protested he was dressed in shorts when the emergency occurred and hence rushed to the police station to file a report.

The man then returned to the scene of the crime with his family after being barred from entering the Simpang Ampat police station to check the nearby bushes in the hope the thief may have left his wife’s passport behind, before the police arrived at the scene.

After relating the incident to the police, the man was urged to head to Bukit Tambun police station to lodge a report, where he was able to do so while still dressed in shorts. – Bernama, December 9, 2023.