EXCLUSIVE Several high-profile criminal cases could well have been swept under the carpet on the instruction of the Attorney-General's Chambers.

This follows claims that amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) five years ago have strengthened the attorney-general's position in police investigations as his office can, at any time, demand the investigation papers of a case even if it has not been completed.

As a result, the AG's Chambers can at times be seen as influencing the direction of police investigations, something that has never before happened in the force.

Former Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Mat Zain Ibrahim, who raised this controversial matter, said the amendments to the CPC passed by Parliament in 2006 and enacted since 2007, have resulted in the police force losing some of its independent investigation powers.

Before the amendments, Mat Zain said there was a clear demarcation of powers separating the duties of the AG's Chambers and the police...