4212) POCA CAN BE USED AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING – DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER – JUST READ ONLINE – 4/11/17

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 – Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has warned that enforcement authorities will not hesitate to wield the country’s preventive laws to detain those suspected of involvement in money laundering activities.

He said the police in particular would not compromise when taking action on those who allegedly participated in illegal activities such as misusing bank accounts to transact illicit payments.

“If there are no witnesses brave enough to provide information or if there is insufficient evidence to press criminal charges against the suspects, the police will not be lenient in using Poca (Prevention of Crime Act 1959),” he said, referring to the legislation which allows detention without trial.

“This is my promise in combatting the various scam activities in the country,” he said in his speech at a Malaysian Muslim Consumers’ Association (PPIM) forum at Menara Felda here today.

The home minister said he was “colour-blind” when it came to tackling issues involving scams.

“Be it love scams, African scams or Macau scams, the victims are Malaysians from all walks of life,” he said.

Zahid said the government had extradited 416 foreigners suspected of involvement in scams, to their respective countries to face prosecution.

He later presented RM500,000 to PPIM to run its activities, and reminded the organisation to report to him on how the money was used.

“This is not for you to buy new clothes,” he said.

The Dewan Rakyat passed amendments to Poca on Aug 10.

However, the Malaysian Bar criticised the move, saying the amendments deprived a detainee of the basic right to be heard at the earliest possible instance, to know the allegations made against him, and to respond to them.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said the amendments made the act an insidious version of the repealed 1969 Emergency (Public Order and Crimes Prevention) Ordinance (EO) which was repealed in 2013.

The group also took to task deputy home minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed for claiming that Poca was not a draconian law and was unlike the now abolished Internal Security Act (ISA).

https://www.justreadonline.com/2017/11/04/poca-can-be-used-for-money-laundering-says-deputy-prime-minister/

4208) GOVT GOING ALL OUT TO ERADICATE ONLINE GAMBLING, FOREIGN SCAM SYNDICATES – NEWS STRAITS TIME – 6/11/17

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has declared all-out war against online gambling syndicates and foreign scams which cause huge amounts of losses.

To this end, said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, he had ordered police to bust all illegal gambling activities, especially online gambling.

“We are very serious about eradicating all syndicates from Malaysia. Police are going all out and have been in contact with countries like China, Macau and nations in Africa, from where some of these syndicates are operating, to put an end to it,” he said at the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) 7th Consumer Forum closing ceremony at Menara Felda.

Zahid said, however, that eradicating the syndicates needed a concerted effort from all concerned, including the public.

“The gambling menace has eaten into society like a cancer and many families are stuck in serious financial problems due to this. That is not all, because gambling (can also lead to those in debt) committing crimes such as snatch theft, extortion, gangsterism, drugs and many other criminal activities that bring financial gain to them,” he said, adding that the authorities had found children as young as those in primary school among those gambling.

Zahid admitted that ending illegal online gambling and arresting those responsible would indeed be challenging as these syndicates either operated outside the country or, if they were in Malaysia, did not stick to one location for long.

“These syndicates are smart but we must be smarter in tracking them down. Their operating database is widespread, which makes it harder for detection. I have made it a KPI (key performance indicators) requirement for state police chiefs so that due importance is given to gambling problem once and for all.

“I have also asked Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Fuzi Harun to make this an utmost priority as it’s a very serious problem. The police are doing a good job, I can say,” he said.

Zahid added that, so far, more that 420 gambling syndicate kingpins from China have been extradited back to their own country to be charged with illegal gambling.

“Currently, there are 38 more who are waiting to be sent back to be charged in China. We have identified several syndicates and they are being pursued… (they are) mostly from Macau, African countries, China and a few other countries.”

On syndicates cheating Malaysians out of their money via various scams, he said he had asked police to pay attention to these as well.

“This would include love scams as well. Police will not hesitate to use the Prevention of Crime Act (POCA) 1959 on repeat and hardcore criminals if suspected of being involved with any syndicate,” Zahid warned.

He said non-governmental organisations such as PPIM could also play a role by being the eyes and ears of the force, apart from educating the public of the dangers of online gambling through community activities.

3086) MULTAQA EKONOMI MAJLIS PERUNDINGAN ISLAM (MPI) - PICC PUTRAJAYA - 28/9/16