New Sarawak CID chief pledges to do his best

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Dev receives his Letter of Duty from Lee (right). With them is Chai.

Dev receives his Letter of Duty from Lee (right). With them is Chai.

KUCHING: A tall order awaits the state’s new CID chief, SAC Dev Kumar M M Sree Shunmugam.

He officially took over from acting chief, ACP Lee Moh Lee, who headed the department for three-and-a-half months, yesterday.

Lee, who is the state’s CID deputy chief, assumed the post of acting chief when he took over from SAC Dato Pahlawan Zulkifli Hassan last March 9.

Zulkifli officially retired on June 14.

Under Lee’s stewardship, crime rate in the state dropped by 12.83 per cent or 538 cases compared to the corresponding period last year.

Dev Kumar, who returned to Sarawak after 26 years, has been tasked to help improve the state police contingent, establish a more conducive working environment for his men, and ensure that peace continue to prevail in the state.

“It’s an honour to be serving here again. I wish to express my gratitude to the police’s top management for giving me the trust and opportunity to lead Sarawak CID.

“I will do my best, and I give you my word that I will give full loyalty to the state’s top police leadership,” said Dev Kumar at the handover of duty ceremony here yesterday.

The event was witnessed by Sarawak’s deputy police commissioner Dato Dr Chai Kin Chung.

Meanwhile, Chai said Dev Kumar’s return to Sarawak would benefit the force as the 54-year-old was familiar with the situation in Sarawak as he had served the state as an investigation officer from 1982 to 1989.

Chai, who said he knew Dev Kumar since their days in Bukit Aman, described the latter as hardworking and very serious in his job.

“Together, let’s work towards making Sarawak more peaceful. Let us turn the state into a conducive environment for police personnel to work in.

“Let us continue to develop the Sarawak police contingent for the good of all enforcement bodies and the public as a whole,” said Chai.

Chai noted the accomplishments of Lee as acting CID head, too.

Before his new posting, Dev Kumar was CID Bukit Aman D8 senior assistant director.

He joined the police force in 1982 and was posted to Kuching upon completion of his training in December that year.

Dev Kumar has been attached to the CID for 25 years.