The crime rate per 100,000 population in Malaysia in 2018 improved to 273.8 compared to 309.7 in the previous year, said chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

Seven states recorded crime index exceeding the national level last year, namely Kuala Lumpur (642.6), Selangor (330.8), Negri Sembilan (327.1), Malacca (303.6), Kedah (287.6), Penang (284.6) and Johor (275.7).

Terengganu recorded the lowest crime index at 148.4 in 2018, Mohd Uzir (above) said in a statement in conjunction with the Crime Statistics, Malaysia 2019 publication today.

The statistic is the second publication of the department, which presents statistics on five areas, namely crime index, drugs, corruption, environment, and other crimes.

In addition, Mohd Uzir said based on statistics by the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK), the number of drug addicts in Pahang, Perlis, Selangor, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya has reduced from 2016 to 2018.

Meanwhile, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Sabah saw an increasing trend in the number of drug addicts in the same period.

On corruption, Mohd Uzir said the number of investigation papers opened by the MACC in 2018 recorded an eight percent decrease to 766 cases.

Among the papers opened were false claims (231 cases) and misuse of position (101 cases), he said.

During the same period last year, the number of people arrested by MACC increased by 1.7 percent, and misuse of position recorded the highest number of cases at 72.2 percent.

- Bernama