News Bar News/Berita Badan Peguam Suspended cop working as lawyer under probe 
| Suspended cop working as lawyer under probe |
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| Saturday, 23 September 2006 06:51pm | |
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© New Straits Times (Used by permission) JOHOR BARU: Can one be a lawyer and a policeman at the same time? This is the question being asked by several senior lawyers here who are simmering, over the fact that a lawyer is playing the dual role of policeman and counsel. They have raised the matter with the Johor Bar Committee (JBC), saying the case was a conflict of interest. The JBC, which in turn took up the matter with the Johor police, was told that the officer in question, an assistant superintendent, had been suspended from the police force following his arrest by the Anti-Corruption Agency for taking a RM20,000 bribe on June 9, 2004. Johor police officer-in-charge of staff discipline Deputy Superintendent Keong Ho Eng, in a letter to the JBC dated July 27, confirmed that the ASP was still on the police payroll. Keong said the ASP was now on half pay pending the disposal of his suspension from active duty, as provided for under the Police Act 1967. According to the letter to the JBC, a copy of which was made available to the New Straits Times, Keong said the ASP was still deemed to be a police officer, he could not work as a lawyer without the approval of the Inspector-General of Police. The ASP, who was a police prosecuting officer at the lower courts here, was called to the Johor Bar on April 7 last year - a full 10 months after his arrest and subsequent suspension by the police. His petition for admission to the Bar before Justice Datuk Azahar Mohamed was supported by two JBC members, who apparently had no prior knowledge of his arrest for corruption. The petition was also backed by Certificate of Good Character, filed by two lawyers who are based in Kuala Lumpur. The officer, who initially served as a legal assistant at a lawyer's firm, now has his own legal firm here. Roger Tan, JBC's representative in the Bar Council, said the national body had asked the lawyer to explain his position and status in the police force. Tan said the matter was now in the hands of the Bar Council. However, the ASP maintained that he was a bona fide lawyers as he had opted out of the police force on early retirement. Comments (1)
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Johore's further contribution to the profession.He was a PO in the court.Many lawyers would have known him and some would have known about his suspension and his petition to the Bar.Yet he was admitted to the Bar before he cleared his name with the police! An independent investigation is warranted.