M'sia police investigating alleged JB checkpoint extortions
The Johor police have vowed to conduct a thorough investigation following complaints posted on social media that its officers had extorted money from travellers in two Singapore-registered vehicles after directing them to the lane for heavy vehicles at a Malaysian checkpoint on March 10.
Posting on the Facebook page MY SG Road Trip – Your Malaysia Road Trip Guide on March 12, a woman called Ms Irene Teo said she was travelling back to Singapore via the Causeway when her car was ushered into a lorry lane by Johor Bahru officers.
Ms Teo alleged that police officers then stopped the car at a “deserted side road” beside the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar CIQ complex and asked for the driver’s driving licence and the passports of the passengers in the car.
The officer said he would help them return to the car lane and asked for RM600 (S$171) in return, Ms Teo said.
If she failed to do so, Ms Teo was told by the officer that she would have to lodge a report at their office and have her and her companions’ information recorded in the system.
Ms Teo wrote that she wanted to go to the office to pay the fine but was ignored by the officer, who was still holding on to one of their passports.
The officer later took Ms Teo and her companions back to the car lane after she gave him RM500.
In another post on the same Facebook page by a user called Sage on March 12, she uploaded two dashcam recordings of the alleged incident.
One shows a traffic police officer directing motorists to the immigration lane meant for heavy vehicles.
The other clip shows them waiting at a clearance counter while an officer in a white uniform talks to the people inside a car in front. Another officer is seen standing next to the car.
They are later escorted out by police officers riding motorcycles. The clips have no audio, and there are no recordings of the extortion taking place.
In her post, Sage wrote that she paid RM100 to get her boyfriend’s licence back.
Johor Police Chief Commissioner M. Kumar told Malaysia’s New Straits Times that the police are aware of the footage that was uploaded and shared on social media platforms.
“Attempts have been made to contact (Ms) Teo, but she (has) yet to respond. We have also recorded statements from the policemen manning traffic during the alleged incident,” he said.
“If the allegations are true, it will be investigated thoroughly without compromise. We do not tolerate any form of misuse of power and acts of alleged bribery.”
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