Don't be fooled by the shut gates and dim lights – the Lanang police station is still operational, said Sibu police chief Saiful Bahri Abdullah.

He said the gates are shut for "security reasons" while there are lighting issues because the 40-year-old building is in an area without adequate street lights.

“There was a case where a drunk driver rammed into the front gate. The sliding door was shattered after the culprits threw rocks at the building.

“Somebody threw firecrackers into the station’s compound before. We closed the gate at night for safety reasons but there are police personnel manning the station and they would open the gate if people wanted to lodge reports,” he was quoted by The Borneo Post as saying.

He was refuting Bukit Assek assemblyperson Irene Chang who said the Lanang police station was "not in service".

She said a constituent complained of going to the police station at 5.30am last Saturday to report a stolen motorcycle, to find the gates shut and two lamps at the gates illuminating what was otherwise a pitch-black building.

However, Saiful said the police station operates 24 hours a day throughout the year.

“For example, the police station was still open during the Bukit Kepong emergency and it is also the same for the Lanang police station.

“Lanang station, or any other police station, never closes,” he told reporters at Sungai Merah station yesterday.

Saiful added that 3,320 cases had been lodged at the station between January and Aug 28 this year.