Text-savvy police chief gets promotion

Link: Policeman’s open SMS line policy pays off

Last month we bought you the story of Ku Chin Wah, the police chief of Kota Kinabulu in Malaysia. He’d been merrily giving out his personal mobile number for ‘concerned citizens’ to text him crime reports – and in the process been slightly overwhelmed by the response.

In news that’s sure to delight his wife (and anyone else who has to put up with his constantly beeping phone), the citizens of Kuala Lumpur are to get the same service – as Ku has just been promoted to police criminal investigations chief for the city.

Although it’s unknown whether the chief is planning to keep his existing mobile number, he did go some way to reassure reporters last week that he hadn’t destroyed any evidence. According to reports, Ku has transferred all the texts to a computer, and printed them for good measure – which took more than 500 sheets of paper.

Amongst the highlights from the crime fighting text hotline included such gems as “Honey are you sleeping already?” and “You chicken. You never reply my message. I will tell your boss.”