Rajesh Nagarajan said the claim was legally unfounded, noting that a criminal record only exists after a court conviction.

Being investigated, questioned or even arrested does not constitute a criminal record, he said.

“To suggest otherwise is either a reckless misstatement or a deliberate attempt to smear a grieving widow to distract from the central and unavoidable issue – the killing of three men by the police,” he said in a statement.

“If Dzulkhairi maintains this allegation, then he must substantiate it with verifiable court records. Failing that, the statement ought to be withdrawn immediately, unreservedly, and a public apology made.”

Rajesh previously said the marital status or alleged criminal record of people linked to the case was irrelevant, after Dzulkhairi alleged that the woman who recorded an audio clip of the incident had lived with one of the men for three years and had 10 criminal cases since 2012.

Rajesh called the remarks a “disgraceful diversion”, saying they had no bearing on the legality, necessity, or proportionality of the police’s use of lethal force.

Dzulkhairi later challenged critics to sue him, insisting his statement was fact-based.

Criticising the police chief’s “flippant challenge”, Rajesh said the office of a state police chief was not a platform for bravado.

“Public posturing and provocative challenges do nothing to advance justice. On the contrary, they erode public confidence and deepen the anguish of families already struggling with unimaginable loss,” he said.

Yesterday, the Attorney-General’s Chambers ordered that the investigation into the shooting case be reclassified as murder.