Malaysian teen shot by police

9 May 2010

Teenagers in Malaysia cannot keep out of trouble, it seems.

A 17-year-old motorcyclist, Mohd Azizi Aziz, who allegedly taunted policemen in a patrol car, was shot during a chase along Jalan Jelebu, Negri Sembilan at about 3.30am, Saturday.

He was said to be travelling back to his home in Taman Tasik Jaya in Paroi after helping a friend at a pasar malam stall in Ampangan.

The bullet hit his hip. The teenager has been admitted to the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital here for surgery. His condition is said to be stable..

As they saw the police car getting nearer, they fled in different directions.

Upon seeing this, the two cops in the car gave chase, repeatedly warning Azizi, who was astride a Honda EX5, to stop.

However, the boy allegedly ignored their orders and rode towards Jalan Jelebu some 2km away.

Osman Salleh, state police chief, said Azizi was allegedly riding in a zig-zag manner, apparently taunting the cops to get him if they could.

"When the victim failed to stop after repeated warnings, one of the cops fired a shot," he said.

He said Azizi stopped his bike upon reaching Kampung Ujung Pasir, about 1km away, and tried to flee. However, he was stopped.

"It was only then that the cops knew Azizi was hit," he said.

The victim did not have a valid riding licence, added Osman, saying that based on preliminary investigations, the policeman did not intend to shoot the victim.

"He took out his pistol from the left window and wanted to fire a warning shot but it hit the victim. We will, however, have to verify this," he said.

"The victim is now recuperating and his condition is stable," he said.

Mr Osman also said that the cop did not follow standard operating procedures on discharging firearms.

The cop who allegedly shot the teenager has been detained.

The policeman, a constable attached to the Rahang station, has been in service for one-and-a half years.

"Since the lives of the policemen were not in danger, he should not have opened fire," he told reporters at the opening of Felda Securities' shooting range at Felda Bukit Rokan near here, later Saturday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Personally, I think that police should not abuse their authority. As the boy did not pose any danger threats to him, he should not have use his weapon so recklessly and cause an injury. It's fortunate that the boy had only sustained an injury, what if it has cost his life?