PETALING JAYA: It has been drummed into them for years and Bukit Aman is saying it again – all cops on duty must accept police reports about accidents, no matter where the case happened.

       “The directive on this matter is clear. They should not direct the complainant to lodge their police report at another station,” said federal police administration director Commissioner Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim.

       “If this happens, the public should ask to see a senior officer such as the officer-in-charge of the district (OCPD) or the officer-in-charge of the station (OCS) if they are turned away by the officer at the station.

       “The public can also get a copy of the report from the same station,” he told The Star.

       Such a situation – in which a complainant is turned away by police personnel on duty – resurfaced recently.

       In a recent incident, a reader of The Star recounted his encounter at a police station in Petaling Jaya.

       He had attempted to file a police report but was advised to do so at the police station that had jurisdiction over the specific area where the accident occurred.

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       The reader said he was driving on the North-South Expressway between Nilai and Seremban on the night of July 21 when his car crashed into a concrete slab that was left in the middle of the road.

       Comm Azmi, when asked about this case, reiterated that police reports can be lodged at any police station across the country.

       However, the investigation of the case might come under the jurisdiction of the police of a different district.

       “After the exact location of where the case occurred is established, the investigation will be conducted by the district police of the identified area.

       “The complainant will then be required to liaise with the investigation officer who undertakes the case,” he added.

       Selangor Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) secretary Datuk Muhammad Fuad Talib said disciplinary action can be taken against police personnel who refuse to accept reports from the public.

       “There should be no reason not to accept reports. With the PRS (Police Reporting System) the force has, all police stations are linked online,” said Muhammad Fuad, a retired police officer who had served as Subang Jaya OCPD and Terengganu deputy police chief.

       He said the MCPF had received similar complaints from the public about this.

       The announcement that the public can lodge traffic-related cases at any police station was made at least a decade ago.

       In 2011, then Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar had announced that all police stations would be connected to the online PRS by November of the same year.

       “Under the new system, a person doesn’t have to go to a traffic police centre to lodge a report. They can go to any police station,” he was quoted as saying.