A three-day basic investigation training course participated by the Executive Secretariat of the Competition Commission Brunei Darussalam (CCBD) concluded with a certificate presentation and handover of tokens of appreciation to trainers from Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) yesterday.
Enforcement officers from the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) in the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (DEPS), as well as from the Weights and Measures Unit (SDT), Industry and Business Ecosystem Division, Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE) also attended.
The training was aimed to understand the processes and procedures undertaken by the RBPF investigation team in their daily investigative work. The training hoped to shed light on proper investigation techniques as well as best practices of the RBPF to be adapted by the participating agencies in implementing and enforcing their laws according to the due process.
CCBD chairperson Nik Hafimi binti Abdul Haadii, expressing appreciation to the RBPF through the Police Training Centre for the technical assistance in providing capacity building training on investigation and intelligence procedures, believed to be beneficial not only to the Executive Secretariat of the CCBD, but also to DCA and SDT enforcement officers.
The officers in the Executive Secretariat of the CCBD Unit under the MoFE, are the investigative arm for the implementation and enforcement of the Competition Order, 2015, and are provided with investigative powers, similar to the powers of police officers for seizable cases under the Criminal Procedure Code, Chapter 7. These include the power to acquire information and enter premises with and without warrant.
The department and the Department of Criminal Intelligence of the RBPF, delved on elements related to investigation and intelligence work, prompting discussions between the trainers and participants. Among the topics discussed were the roles and tasks delegated among the investigation officer and the team members; procedures for applying warrant before the magistrate to enter premises; collecting and extracting evidence; as well as techniques in taking witness statements and handling the parties being investigated.
The training also discussed procedures to collect digital evidence stored in computers, mobile phones, tablets and multimedia cards; as well as protocols to ensure proper chain in handling digital evidence as not to tamper the evidence. This is relevant to the investigation of Section 11 prohibition on Anti-Competitive Agreements of the Competition Order, 2015, as anti-competitive agreements between businesses, in the current digital era, may take place over WhatsApp or Telegram applications, with documentations saved in the Cloud.
The CCBD chairperson also expressing hopes for the good relationship and cooperation between enforcement agencies participating in the training and the RBPF can continue in the spirit of adopting the whole-of-nation approach, to ensure that enforcement work can be carried out efficiently towards the realisation of the Brunei Vision 2035.
Head of Major Crimes Investigation Division Senior Superintendent Haji Khairol Amilin bin Haji Idris presented the certificates to 28 enforcement officers from the three enforcement agencies, under the MoFE.
