The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) have expressed regret over the irresponsible reporting by the Sunday Times in the United Kingdom that Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was responsible for the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 while enroute to Beijing, China on March 8.

Inspector-General of Police Secretariat assistant head (corporate communications) ACP Datin Asmawati Ahmad described the report as irresponsible and baseless.

"The Sunday Times, United Kingdom had contacted PDRM to get the latest development on the mystery of the missing MH370 on June 19 and 20.

"We replied that investigation was still ongoing, not conclusive and encompassed all aspects of investigation. PDRM did not make a statement that Captain Zaharie was the main suspect in the incident," she said in a statement here today.

In its website today, the newspaper quoted PDRM as currently regarding Zaharie as the main suspect behind the aircraft's disappearance.

It stated that Zaharie was now the target after the rest onboard MH370 were cleared.

The MH370 aircraft which was on a flight to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew, went off the radar an hour after departing from the KL International Airport at 12.41am.

The search operation involving numerous nations was launched to hunt for the aircraft, starting with the South China Sea and then the southern Indian Ocean, where it was said to have deviated from its original route.