KOTA KINABALU: A lot of procedures needed to be taken to send back a wanted man to their country of origin.
State Commissioner of Police Datuk Hamza Taib said there should be an official request from the Philippines Attorney General to their Foreign Ministry before submitting it to their counterparts in Malaysia to enable them to process the suspect’s deportation.
“However in this case, the application was forwarded to me directly. We must understand that Malaysia has its own laws and it is not that easy to deport an individual for no specific reason.
“We have no problem deporting the suspect to the Philippines should there be a prima facie, but it needs to go to the right channel,” stressed Hamza.
He was commenting on rumours that there have been efforts to prevent the deportation of a suspected Sabah conman involved in scamming 15,000 investors in the Philippines.
The man, Mohammad Suffian Syed, 47, also known as Manuel Amalilio in the Philippines, was arrested in Ranau, last month.
He fled from the Philippines in November last year after Philippine President Benigno Aquino III ordered his arrest for scamming Filipinos of 12 billion pesos (RM895 million).
Hamza, meanwhile, was reported by the portal news that Mohammad Suffian was arrested in Ranau over identity issue offences under Section 12 (1) D of the Passport Act 1966 and not for the alleged scamming in the Philippines.
“We found him in possession of a suspected fake Philippine passport. We are now trying to establish his true citizenship,” Hamza said, adding that any deportation should follow the required laws.