Police will refer to the Attorney-General to gain access to former PetroSaudi International executive Xavier Andre Justo, who is currently detained in Thailand, said Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar.
He said he was told by his Thai counterpart Gen Somyot Poopanmoung that no interviews could be allowed until the Swiss national was charged in a Thai court.
Among the reasons given were that Justo had not been charged in court and if the interview was allowed, it might cause the charges to be defective.
"Justo is a Swiss citizen and the offence was committed in Thailand. Because of this, it is not easy to question. In this case, we need legal provisions to interview Justo.
"The Swiss government has also expressed its concerns over the investigations involving its citizen... so the Thai authorities also need to be careful in this aspect," he told reporters on arrival at the KL International Airport from Bangkok in Kuala Lumpur today.
Khalid added that the Thai authorities needed some time to complete their investigations, including referring to the law, on allowing Malaysian police to interview Justo.
"We will be consulting the Attorney-General, particularly on the legal standpoints, to gain access to Justo (in Thailand)," he said.
Regarding his meeting with Somyot, Khalid said his counterpart fully cooperated in sharing certain information to assist Malaysian police on investigations here.
On a report by The Straits Times of Singapore that it succeeded in interviewing Justo in Thailand, Khalid said he was not sure how it was done.
"I was told no parties are allowed to record conversations with Justo but I'm not sure whether the directive also involves the media," he said.
Justo was detained by Thai authorities on June 22 for allegedly stealing information from PetroSaudi and demanding it pay him 2.5 million Swiss francs (RM10 million) to prevent him from releasing the documents.
The documents are alleged to involve PetroSaudi's dealings with Malaysian sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which is mired in controversy. - Bernama
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