Penang police detained five of their personnel yesterday to assist in investigations over the case of a Special Branch policeman who was found dead believed to have fallen from a hotel in Pulau Tikus here on Monday.

State police chief A Thaiveegan said the five policemen aged between 40 to 50 were held to facilitate investigations as they were at the same place with the deceased, Sofian Shahari, 47, believed to be attending a function there.

"Based on initial investigations, the five policemen were believed to be at the function with the dead policeman and we detained them to record their statements to ensure there is no conflicting information and ensure they are speaking the truth.

"Police will be conducting an investigation right to the bottom to seek justice for the dead policeman and now we are preparing an investigation paper which will be handed over to the deputy public prosecutor for further action,” he told reporters after opening a talk on Exposure of Contemporary Crime Issues in USM today.

The event was organised by the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) of Penang and USM with the cooperation of Penang police and is to provide exposure and information to the people on crimes especially commercial crimes.

Thaiveegan said urine screening on the five detained policemen with the rank of sergeant and corporal was positive but police were still waiting for confirmation from the Chemistry Department.

He said apart from the five, police were also looking at several other witnesses namely members of the public who were believed to be present at the incident location and had information on the incident.

“Even though police are still classifying the case as sudden death, we are investigating further and police are waiting for the complete post-mortem on Sofian for further action,” he said.

In the incident at about 4.45am, the body of the victim who was a special branch policeman in Northeast District headquarters was found by a hotel employee lying face down in the car park in front of the hotel in Pulau Tikus on Monday.

Before the incident, the victim who was a corporal and who had been serving the force for 19 years was believed to be at a karaoke centre there to celebrate the birthday of a policeman from Penang police contingent.

The death of the policeman had created a mystery because the police conducting investigations at the location found a bag and the left side slipper of the victim on the second floor in front of a dental clinic in the karaoke centre building.

Apart from that, police inspection at the same five-storey building, found a piece of curtain on the five-foot way of the karaoke centre while the wallet, authority card and mobile phone of the victim were missing. - Bernama