KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Kelantan police have called on Thai authorities to provide evidence supporting claims that suspects in a recent shooting that killed five Thai security personnel fled across the border into Malaysia.
According to Berita Harian, Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said no intelligence had been received to substantiate the allegation, while monitoring by the state police headquarters and all district police headquarters had detected no movement by the suspects into Malaysia.
“Whenever a shooting or bomb explosion occurs in southern Thailand, claims often emerge that the suspects have fled to Malaysia.
“If they genuinely have information, they should provide it to us so that immediate action can be taken,” he told the national daily after a coordination meeting between the Royal Malaysia Police and the Kelantan State Education Department in Kota Bharu today.
Mohd Yusoff also said he had placed particular emphasis on shutting illegal routes along the border since taking up his post in Kelantan.
The effort was aimed at curbing smuggling, cross-border crime and the entry of wanted individuals, he said.
He added that tighter security should put an end to repeated claims that criminal suspects could easily slip into Malaysia after incidents in southern Thailand.
“I welcome the Thai government’s plan to build a security fence stretching more than 90km along the border, as the initiative could strengthen controls in both countries,” he said.