Johor police nab two over fake cops chasing S’pore travellers

This article is more than 12 months old

Jun 06, 2023 05:09 pm

JOHOR BARU - Malaysian police have arrested two men, including a civil servant, who allegedly impersonated police officers and appeared to try to pull over a car travelling from Singapore to Genting.

The incident was believed to have occurredon early Monday at 41.5km of the North-South Highway, next to the Sedenak toll plaza exit in Kulai, Johor.

Johor police chief Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the two suspects were arrested at about 6pm on Monday in the Johor district of Pontian.

“The two suspects, aged between 43 and 48, were arrested at a residential area in Permas, Kukup in Pontian.

“One of the suspects is a civil servant with no criminal record while the other suspect has a criminal record for drug-related offences.

“We are on the lookout for a third suspect who is still at large,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

The incident occurred at KM148.1 along the North-South expressway at about 3pm.

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Datuk Kamarul added that the police also seized a mobile beacon light, a reflective vest, a headlight, a torch light and a car along with its keys.

“One of the suspects will be remanded for two days while the remand order for the civil servant suspect has been rejected,” he said.

He said that the case is being investigated under Section 170 of the Penal Code for impersonating a civil servant.

“The case is also being investigated under Section 135(1) of the Customs Act 1967 as it also involved the smuggling of goods,” he said, adding that details of the smuggled goods are still under investigation.

It was earlier reported that police were on the lookout for a trio involved in a viral video of a car chase on the North-South Expressway, heading north.

A Facebook post in Chinese by user Freeman Gan WT on Monday claimed that a car started following him and a friend around the 27km mark of the highway at about 5.40am on Monday.

In a video accompanying the post, which Mr Gan said took place around the 37km mark, a silver car, with a flashing blue beacon light on its roof, can be seen speeding alongside his.

While he initially thought the men inside the car were police officers, Mr Gan said he later suspected that they were impersonators and refused to let them stop in front of his vehicle.

While racing ahead, he said that he called the police who told him not to stop and that if the car did not relent, to drive towards the nearest police station.

It was only at about the 71km mark that the car had disappeared, said Mr Gan, adding that he stopped at a crowded area at 8.10am to have breakfast with his friend.

Acting Kulai police chief Yusof Othman said that a police report about the incident was lodged by a police officer at about 1.52pm on Monday, and that the victims have not made a report themselves. - THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK