A SENIOR police officer in Sabah who is being investigated by Bukit Aman for allegedly sexually harassing his men had also eyed a male reporter, according to the victim.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insight, the crime reporter said the officer had made a pass at him about two weeks ago.

“I was on my rounds to look for crime cases in the district and texted police officers looking for stories, and he responded.

“Somewhere along the text conversation, he told me not to fall in love with him,” said the journalist.

Malaysiakini reported earlier today that Bukit Aman’s Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (Jips) was investigating the police officer, who has since been transferred to the Sabah police contingent headquarters pending further action.

The officer, believed to be a district police chief, has been accused of sexually harassing six of his men and a member of the Peoples’ Volunteer Corps (Rela).

The married officer was said to have frequently sent lewd text messages to his victims and invited them to a hotel room on the pretext of having discussions.

“One of the victims was asked to go to a hotel for a discussion. The police chief then asked him to continue the discussion in the hotel room.

“The victim did not suspect anything was amiss. But in the room, the police chief tried to kiss his cheek and touch his private parts but the victim declined and left the hotel,” a source said.

The source added that the officer had also groped some men by inserting his hand into their pants.

“If the victims resisted, he would give them the cold treatment and exclude them from activities at the district police headquarters,” he added.

The matter came to light when one victim had failed to submit certain reports and was called in by the Sabah police headquarters.

“The victim then revealed that he couldn’t complete his work as there had been disruptions by the police chief and that he and others had avoided meeting the police chief in person,” said the source.

Sabah police had recorded statements from seven alleged victims without the police chief’s knowledge and sent their findings to Bukit Aman. – August 20, 2018.