There Are Four Types Of Body Search In Malaysia. Each One Needs A Different Rank To Authorise It.

Most Malaysians know one thing about police body searches: a woman can only be searched by a female officer.

That is true, and it is about a tenth of what the law actually says.

Section 20A of the Criminal Procedure Code and its Fourth Schedule create four distinct types of body search, each requiring authorisation from a different rank. The higher the intrusion, the higher the rank required.

And the reason that schedule exists is worth knowing. It was introduced following the highly contentious "ear squat" incident — a video of a woman detainee being made to perform naked squats in a police lock-up, which led to a Commission of Inquiry. The procedure on searching a person took centre stage, the Commission made recommendations, and those recommendations became the Fourth Schedule.

This article is about searches of your body. For roadblock car searches, phone searches and police entering your home, see the separate articles — those are governed by different provisions entirely.

1. The four types, and who authorises each

This is the table that matters, taken from the Malaysian Bar's Red Book.

Three points people miss.

An intrusive search is a medical procedure, not a police one. A police officer cannot lawfully conduct it. If an officer proposes to search inside your body, that is a doctor's job with OCPD authority.

The rank ladder is the safeguard. If a constable proposes a strip search on his own initiative, the authorisation requirement has not been met. Ask who authorised it and what rank they hold.

s.20A binds every enforcement agency, not just the police. The section provides that notwithstanding any other written law, the Fourth Schedule applies to any search of a person conducted by any officer of any enforcement agency with the power of arrest or search. Immigration, customs and other agencies are covered.

2. Search without arrest — the raid scenario

This is the most common situation: you are at a club, karaoke outlet or entertainment venue and the police conduct a raid looking for something, typically drugs.

They may search your body and bags without arresting you. But:

"This must be done in the presence of a Police Officer who is an inspector or of a higher rank."

What the Red Book tells you to do, and it is practical advice worth following exactly:

• Do not allow the officer to put his hands into your pockets or bags.
• Take out your belongings one by one. Each time, say the item aloud — "Purse", "keys", "ID card".
• When your pockets and bags are empty, turn them inside out.

Why this matters. Emptying your own pockets, item by item, out loud, in front of witnesses, is the single best protection against anything being said to have been found on you that was not there. It also protects the officer. Do it calmly and do not make it a confrontation.

Your rights in this scenario:

• A female can only be body searched by a female Police Officer
• All body searches must be carried out with decency — for example, officers cannot touch your private parts
• There is no law requiring you to strip naked

3. Search on arrest

Once you are under arrest, the police have power to search your body for any object relating to the suspected offence.

The location requirement is a real right. The Red Book states it plainly:

"The body search must be conducted in a confined place. It is your right to be bodily searched in private."

So a search of your person carried out in public view, at a roadside or in a crowded lobby, is not what the law contemplates. You can ask to be searched in private.

Even under arrest, there is no law allowing the police to force you to strip naked.

s.17 CPC provides that a constable may search a person lawfully detained, but it must be in the presence of a police officer not below the rank of Inspector, or a Magistrate, or a Justice of the Peace.

s.19(2) provides that a woman can only be searched by another woman, with strict regard to decency.

Paragraph 3 of the Fourth Schedule provides that the person arrested shall be present during the search, and that no officer shall disclose to the public any blemish, flaw or defect observed.

4. Lock-up searches — and the incident that changed the law

The "ear squat" scandal is the origin of the current framework, and understanding it explains why the rules are drawn as they are.

A video showed a woman detainee being required to perform naked squats. In the aftermath:

• The then Deputy IGP initially said the perpetrator being sought was the person who filmed it, not the policewoman, describing the search as "a routine check", and said whoever filmed it would be charged under the Penal Code with insulting the woman's modesty — carrying up to five years.
• He also stated that such actions were standard and used to examine body cavities for possible contraband.
• Press reporting confirmed that strip searches were standard police procedure after arrest, that squats were used to dislodge objects concealed in body orifices, and that in some cases detainees were hosed with strong jets of water to dislodge material hidden in their hair.
• Reporting also stated that only officers of the same sex as the detainee were permitted to examine them, and that officers of the opposite sex would not be allowed in the room.
• The then Deputy Prime Minister denied that strip searches were part of standard procedure, saying "There is no reason to embarrass and humiliate people in that manner."
• An independent body was announced to investigate.

The outcome was a Commission of Inquiry whose recommendations became the Fourth Schedule. That is why the rank ladder exists.

We are presenting this as documented history, including the contradiction between the police and political positions at the time, because it explains the law's structure. It is not a claim about current practice.

On lock-up conditions more generally, the Red Book sets out entitlements: one set of clothing, personal belongings recorded and held in safe custody and returned on release, two baths a day, immediate medical attention if sick, and proper and adequate food and water.

5. If a search feels improper — what to say and do

In the moment:

1. Do not resist physically. Police may use reasonable force if you resist, and resisting creates offences regardless of whether the search was proper.
2. Ask, politely: "Am I under arrest?" The answer changes which rules apply.
3. Ask which type of search this is — pat down, strip, intimate or intrusive.
4. Ask who authorised it and what rank they hold. For a strip search, Inspector or above. For an intimate search, ASP or above. For an intrusive search, the OCPD, and it must be a medical officer conducting it.
5. If you are a woman being searched by a male officer, say clearly: "A female officer must conduct this search." Then protest, and note names.
6. If asked to strip naked, say: "There is no law requiring me to strip naked." Protest. Do not escalate physically.
7. Ask to be searched in a confined place if you are being searched in public after arrest.
8. Note the officer's name, rank and ID number. If not in uniform, ask to see the authority card — red means suspended with no authority, blue means Inspector and above, yellow means below Inspector, white means reserve police.
9. Note the patrol car or motorcycle number plate.
10. Ask for a lawyer to be present. It is advisable to request that you be accompanied by your lawyer for the search.

Afterwards:

1. Lodge a police report as soon as possible. Write down everything first — times, names, ranks, what was said, who was present, what was done.
2. Seek medical attention if there was any physical contact causing injury, and keep the records.
3. Complain to the IPCC — the Independent Police Conduct Commission, established under the IPCC Act 2022 (Act 839), in force July 2023, which monitors, investigates and handles complaints of misconduct by PDRM members. ipcc.gov.my. See (If Someone Dies In Police Custody, An Inquest Is Mandatory. Here Is What A Family Can Do.) for the IPCC's powers and limits.
4. Complain to SUHAKAM — suhakam.org.my.
5. Get legal advice. Bar Council Legal Aid Centres: Kuala Lumpur 03-2691 3005 / 03-2693 2072, Selangor 03-3372 2792, Negeri Sembilan 06-7633 035, Melaka 06-2845 519, Johor 07-2235 698, Perak 05-2550 523, Kedah & Perlis 04-7333 467, Kelantan 04-7448 660, Pahang 09-5159 244, Pulau Pinang 04-2617 451.

6. Where this is uncertain

We could not verify the current text of the Fourth Schedule paragraph by paragraph, and have relied on the Malaysian Bar's Red Book and academic summaries. The Minister responsible for internal security may amend the Fourth Schedule by order published in the Gazette, so the detail can change.

We could not locate current SUHAKAM findings specifically on improper body searches, or published statistics on complaints about searches.

Academic commentary observes that "in general, the law of search in Malaysia is inadequate and there is a heavy reliance on the common law position" — s.20A and the Fourth Schedule were introduced precisely to fill that gap, and whether they fill it completely is contested.