​A 3-day basic investigation training course participated by the Executive Secretariat of the Competition Commission Brunei Darussalam (CCBD) was concluded with certificate presentation to the participants as well as handover of the tokens of appreciation to the trainers from Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), yesterday. Also attending the course were 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.

The training was aimed to understand the processes and procedures undertaken by investigation team of the RBPF in their course of daily investigative work. The training was 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 respective laws according to the due process.

Present during the closing event was the Chairperson of the CCBD, Yang Mulia Dayang Nik Hafimi binti Abdul Haadii, who expressed her appreciation to the RBPF through the Police Training Centre for the technical assistance rendered in providing capacity building training on investigation and intelligence procedures, which was 2 believed to be beneficial not only to the Executive Secretariat of the CCBD, but also to the enforcement officers from DCA and SDT.

The officers in the Executive Secretariat of the CCBD Unit under the Ministry of Finance and Economy, are the investigative arms for the implementation and enforcement of the Competition Order, 2015, and are provided with investigative powers, which are 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 training was delivered by experienced officers from the Criminal Investigations Department and the Department of Criminal Intelligence of the RBPF, and delved on several key elements related to investigation and intelligence work, which has prompted interactive discussions between the trainers and participants. Among the topics discussed include the roles and tasks delegation among the investigation officer and the team members; procedures for applying warrant before the Magistrate for the purpose of entering premises; steps in collecting and extracting evidence; as well as techniques in taking witness statements and handling the parties being investigated.

The training also discussed on 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 the 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.

In the remarks, Chairperson of CCBD also expressed her hope for the good relationship and cooperation between the enforcement agencies participated 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.
Also present during the closing event was Yang Mulia Senior Superintendent Haji Khairol Amilin bin Haji Idris, Head of Major Crimes Investigation Division who presented the certificates to a total of 28 enforcement officers from the three enforcement agencies, under the Ministry of Finance and Economy.