Police clear church in Malaysia reserve land ownership row
The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has called on all parties not to manipulate the issue of PDRM reserve land ownership in Kamunting, Perak, which could potentially confuse the public. PDRM Secretary Noorsiah Saaduddin announced that the police have completed an investigation into the ownership of the reserve land, which includes police quarters and the house of the Taiping district police headquarters (IPD) chief.
According to the investigation, there was no element of fraud concerning the reserve land’s status, which belongs to a church, and the case has been classified as no further action (NFA). Noorsiah Saaduddin stated that the land in lot 784 has been owned by The Titular Roman Catholic Bishop of Melaka since 1883, and the police report lodged by IPD Taiping was aimed at identifying the land ownership status.
On Thursday, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail informed the Dewan Rakyat that the Perak prosecution director had decided to classify the case as NFA following a Taiping IPD police report regarding the land transfer made without knowledge.
On April 30, a local news portal cited a source reporting that a piece of PDRM reserve land in Kamunting was transferred to a church organisation in Melaka without anyone’s knowledge. The change in land ownership was revealed after the police received a letter from a lawyer’s company representing the church on April 14, claiming ownership of 0.55 hectares of land in Kamunting. IPD Taiping subsequently lodged a police report on April 20 to investigate the land’s ownership status.
