LANGKAWI: Three policemen, including an officer with the rank of assistant superintendent of police (ASP), were charged in the magistrate's court here today with the murder of a drug addict in January.
However, no plea was recorded from the accused ASP Azhar Mohamad Amir, 45, and corporals Shahril Firdaus Solleh and Mohd Shaharri Shah Mat Saad, both 36. All three were attached to the Langkawi police Narcotics Investigation Division.
They were jointly charged with one man who is still at large, with murdering Mohamad Hafiz Salleh, 32, at their office between 6pm and 8pm on Jan 29.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Khairul Anuar Abd Halim prosecuted. All the accused said they understood the charge when it was read before magistrate Nurul Natasha Rizal. No plea was recorded as murder charge was under the High Court's purview.
No bail was also offered and the court set Oct 20 for case mention.
In February, a video of a group of policemen manhandling a man at a fuel station in Ayer Hangat went viral on social media.
His family has demanded a thorough investigation after the man died while receiving treatment at the Sultanah Maliha Hospital on Feb 1.