Now Malaysian couples can hold weddings in police station!

Kuala Lumpur, April 15 (ANI): In a move to forge a better relationship between the police and the community, a police station in Malaysia has offered couples the use of its compound to get married in.

Johor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Shariff said the Chamek police station in Kluang had been chosen for such an initiative, which is in accordance with a "community policing" project.

He said that the compound was offered to the public as a way to help the poor, and that besides weddings, residents in the area could also have a potluck lunch gathering or other functions.

"We are doing this as part of our community policing efforts as we want to forge better understanding with the public," the Star Online quoted him as saying in an interview.

"We are trying to break barriers, as many people do not like to come to police stations and some probably even view it as bad luck," he said.

DCP Mohd Mokhtar said the Chamek station was selected for the project as it was recently launched. Its jurisdiction covers an area that is relatively free of crime. The local population is around 3,000.

"We will gauge public participation before looking at whether to expand this initiative," he said.

DCP Mohd Mokhtar also announced that the 7,000 policemen in the state would receive special monetary awards and commendation letters if they managed to nab, investigate and charge snatch thieves within 24 hours of the cases being reported.

"We want to clamp down on snatch thieves in Johor as they give the state a bad name," he added. (ANI)