KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department defended its actions after forcibly entering the apartment of an elderly couple during a routine raid on Thursday morning.
Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department director Syamsul Badrin Mohshin said the officers were responding to a complaint made over the couple's unit.
Despite knocking on the door for a duration of "10 to 15 minutes," they received no response, he said.
He further asserted that the department followed standard procedures throughout the incident.
"When officers saw a lot of slippers outside the house, and no one answered the door, we broke the door open.
"The claim that we did not introduce ourselves is not true. When we knocked on the door itself we introduced ourselves as being from immigration.
"We have SOPs when we enter a home. We act based on complaints and information. We are in uniform, not plain clothes. So it impossible for this (not identifying ourselves) to happen," he told a news portal here today.
Syamsul said his officers would contact the homeowner to resolve the issue.
"We need to speak to the owner first to see what the story is. We will investigate the matter first," he added.
Asked if the door of the unit would be replaced and owners compensated, Syamsul expressed hope that such arrangements could be made. However, he reiterated the need for the department to consult with the owner first.
"We need to speak to the owner. And if they agree, we hope they will withdraw their police report."
On Thursday, a news portal quoted the elderly Malaysian couple who claimed that an immigration officer had forcefully entered their condominium unit and intruded into their bedroom.
The incident occurred at about 3am at the Putra Majestic Condominium. According to the couple, the man had demanded to see their MyKad identification cards, but failed to provide any form of identification himself.
Subsequently, the husband filed a report at the Sentul district police headquarters and reached out to the Immigration department regarding the raid.
The police had said yesterday that they referred the case back to the Immigration Department.