Cops extort money from tour guide
(The Malay Mail) They accused him of possessing drugs
A TOUR guide returning home after work on Sept 16 was accused of possessing a packet of drugs by three policemen, who then demanded money from him.
Tan Kian Boon, 42, said he was answering a phone call in his car by the roadside near Pandan Perdana when a police patrol car arrived about 9.30pm. “I was about to leave the area when they came by.”
Three policemen, he said, alighted from the patrol car and asked him to do the same.
“One of them asked to see my driving licence and identity card which I obliged. The other two officers then asked me to empty my pockets and place everything, including my wallet and handphone, on the patrol car.”
Tan said he did not suspect anything amiss at the time and followed their instructions willingly. But what transpired afterwards came as a real shock to him. One of the policemen showed him a small packet of white powdery substance which he suspected to be drugs.
“They claimed that the packet was mine and that I can be jailed or hanged for possessing it.” He said the policemen kept on asking him to hold it but he refused to do so.
Then, he said, the policemen began threatening to arrest him and told him that he would die in the lock-up. “At that point, I was at a loss and scared too. They kept saying that I was in trouble.”
To “settle” the matter, Tan said the policemen demanded RM15,000 but he had only RM400 and 6,000 remnimbi (RM3,068) in his wallet. “I told them that I only had RM1,000 in my bank account.”
After withdrawing the money from an ATM machine in Taman Shamelin, Tan said he only gave the policemen RM500 as he needed the rest of the cash for other expenses.
Tan’s lawyer Keppy Wong Khai Pun said the police should not abuse their power and should be protecting the public. Ampang Jaya police chief ACP Abdul Jalil Hassan said he was aware of the case and investigations are going on. He said an identity parade was conducted recently and the culprits have been identified.
“We take this matter seriously as we do not want such to tarnish the image of the force.” Jalil said the policemen were remanded for two days and have been assigned to desk duties pending further action.
A report, he added, has been sent to the deputy public prosecutor’s office.
