Sime Darby Acknowledges Video

Sime Darby Plantation (SDP) says it has acknowledged the discovery of another video depicting a person caught for stealing FFB bunches from the estate of its subsidiary, Sime Darby Plantation Liberia (SDPL).

The company says a video recording of the incident, which the management believes might have taken place sometime in February 2018, appears to show members from the Community Policing team, engaged by SDPL, mistreating the alleged perpetrator of the theft.

According to a release, SDPL disclosed that it has lodged a police report pertaining to the video for thorough investigation.

“We would like to clarify that Community Policing is a collaborative effort between SDPL and its surrounding communities. It involves volunteers from communities who assist SDPL in safeguarding not only its estates but also the surrounding areas where the communities reside,” the company said in a release.

However, the company has expressed its utmost appreciation to the communities for their valuable contribution in helping to curb rampant thefts along the boundaries of SDPL plantation through this initiative. Nevertheless, while their contributions have reduced the occurrence of thefts, there may have been incidents where some have acted on their own accord and against SDPL’s instructions.

SDP believes that actions by members of Community Policing as depicted in the video warrants an immediate review of SDPL’s Community Policing standard operating procedures. As such, “we have deployed our most senior security personnel to Liberia to review the security protocols there to prevent future occurrences of such incident.”

The company has announced with immediate effect, Community Policing at SDPL will be temporarily be suspended until proper training as well as new and better procedures are in place. SDPL is currently working closely together with the Liberia National Police (LNP) and its surrounding communities to ensure that these initiatives are achievable.

“SDP would like to reiterate that we do not condone any use of physical force and ill treatment throughout our global operations. We would also like to assure SDPL’s full cooperation with the authorities in the investigation of the video,” the release concluded.