Perlis police had ordered for the human trafficking camps found in Wang Kelian to be destroyed to prevent the sites from being used by other migrants, the New Straits Times reported today.

In a response to the English daily’s report on alleged cover-ups surrounding the 2015 case, Bukit Aman said destruction of the camps was ordered by the then Perlis police deputy chief.

“It was not necessary for us to preserve the area (or) not to destroy the camp because the assessment of the case then was of immigration offences.

“The main intent of the destruction of the camp was not for it to be used as a base for migrants,” the police said.

The campsite was eventually declared as an operational area, with the suspected graves marked, and the area combed by the General Operations Force for booby traps, before forensic and investigative team were allowed in, the police added.

Bukit Aman, meanwhile, also denied claims that its officers were in alliance with the syndicates involved.

“There is no evidence to show there had been any police officers who were in cahoots with the syndicates in this particular case,” said Bukit Aman when asked whether any of its officers were being dealt with under the law, or disciplined internally for any offences related to the case.

At the same time, Bukit Aman also said police have since charged and convicted four people under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 and still on the lookout for 10 others believed to be Thai nationals, and one Bangladeshi.

The NST had on Wednesday ran a report headlined “Was there a cover-up in Wang Kelian?” which referred to the 2015 discovery of mass graves.

Its report alleged a subsequent cover-up, which involved destroying evidence, as well as redacting reports and other documents during the course of the investigation.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) in response said it has approached its Thai counterpart to obtain answers on the Wang Kelian mass graves find, after hitting a brick wall in doing the same with Malaysian authorities.

On May 1, 2015, Malaysian authorities were alerted to the human trafficking camps and mass graves by their Thai counterparts.

They checked the Malaysian side of the border, and eventually discovered 139 graves on May 24, together with some two dozen similar-looking camps.