Leong Chee Woh

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Leong Chee Woh (11 November 1929 – 18 July 2021) was a Malaysian police officer who served from 1951 to 1984 and rose to the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police. He was born in Taiping, Perak, and came from a Baba-Nyonya family. His early schooling was interrupted by the Japanese occupation, but he later sat for the Senior Cambridge Examination in 1949. Before joining the police, he worked as a Taiping Town Council clerk and then as a chief clerk at the Selama Police District headquarters.

Leong joined the Federation of Malaya Police on 1 December 1951 as a Probationary Inspector, receiving his training at the Police Training Centre in Jalan Gurney, Kuala Lumpur. During the Malayan Emergency he served with the Police Field Force from 1952 to 1953. He was posted to the Kuantan District Special Branch in 1954 and was promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Police in 1956, later serving in the Perak Special Branch in Ipoh. He took part in operations against the Malayan Communist Party, including Operation Ginger, Project Jukebox and Project Jujubes.

In 1968 he moved to East Malaysia, joining the Sarawak Special Branch in Kuching. He founded the elite F Team, the undercover unit of the Special Branch, in March 1971, and held the rank of Superintendent of Police at that time. By the end of 1978 he was promoted to Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police and served as deputy director (Operations) of the Bukit Aman Special Branch at the police headquarters. He retired on 10 November 1984.

Leong received many honours from Malaysia and abroad. Notable awards include the Star of the Commander of Valour (PGB) in 2017, the Commander of the Order of the Territorial Crown (PMW) in 2010 (which granted him the title Datuk), and numerous other decorations such as KMN, AMN, PPN, PPS, PPA, PPT, PJPN, and foreign honours like the Order of the Crown of Thailand.

He was married to Datin Liew Kim Har and had three children. Leong Chee Woh died of a stroke at his home in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, on 18 July 2021, aged 91.