In the latest update on Thivyah Veelurajan’s story regarding the ‘999’ emergency hotline incident, the police have finally spoken out regarding the police officers who were sitting idly in their car at the end of the road, instead of looking for the victim’s house.
Commissioner Datuk Huzir Mohamed has verified that the Selangor Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS) has begun the investigation into why the officers arrived late to the scene after the robbers had broken into the victim’s house and attacked her family.
Apparently, after probing into the situation, the authorities figured out that the police officers that were dispatched probably had gone to the wrong house.
“The police personnel might have mistaken the house number. They went to the last house on the left of the street but instead the victim’s house was on the utmost right,” he told a press conference at the Selangor Police headquarters, according to The Star.
The distance of the wrong house from the victim’s house was roughly about 400 meters to 500 meters, as the victim’s house was at the utmost right of the lane, while the police officers were at the utmost left.
“The police personnel might have mistaken the house number. When they reached the wrong house, the lights were on and the front gates were open. A member of the police unit even went to the back of the house to standby for backup, ” Commissioner Datuk Huzir added.
The unit only realised that they were at the wrong house when they saw the victim waving at them.
JIPS is currently still investigating as to how the officers ended up at the wrong address.
In response to the officers showing up late to the scene, Commissioner Datuk Huzir said, “Stern action will be taken if it is discovered that the police unit was late in responding to the emergency.”
Whereas, regarding the ‘999’ emergency hotline issue, he encourages the public to continue using the familiar ‘999’ number as calls from ‘999’ will be patched through to the appropriate departments, depending on the emergency.
“However, it is also good if members of the public keep the numbers for the nearest Bilik Gerakan of their respective area or district as well,” he said.
Let’s hope that the authorities use this opportunity to advertise these Bilik Gerakan numbers widely, so that everyone would have easy access to them for later emergencies.
Also read: Outraged M’sians Share Their PDRM Horror Stories After ‘999’ Incident Goes Viral