Two traffic police officers in Malaysia are accused of extorting RM1,000 (S$316) from a woman, allegedly using her own vehicle to ferry her to a convenience store ATM to withdraw the cash.
The 31-year-old woman, Mandy Leow, testified in court that she was pressured into paying a so-called “settlement” to avoid being arrested for drink driving.
Ms Leow, who works as an assistant to Penang state executive councillor Lim Siew Khim, gave evidence at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
According to Free Malaysia Today, the incident took place at about 2.25am on 14 March at a roadblock along Jalan Anson, near the Penang Buddhist Association.
Source: Julieta Camila Tosto on Canva, for illustration purposes only
Ms Leow said she was ordered out of her car for a breathalyser test.
However, the officers allegedly did not show her the printed results. Instead, one officer rolled up the slip and put it into his pocket.
She told the court that the officer warned her that the penalty for drink driving was a RM10,000 (S$3,100) fine and imprisonment, before telling her to get back into her car and “think carefully”.
She added that a second officer later suggested they could “help” reduce the fine. Ms Leow said she told them she only had RM1,000 (S$316) in her savings.
Ms Leow testified that she was then told to sit in the passenger seat of her own vehicle, while a man in plain clothes drove her to a convenience store on Magazine Road that had an ATM.
Source: Qin PinLi on Canva, for illustration purposes only
“At first, I thought I was being taken to the police station,” she said.
After withdrawing the money, she was driven back to the roadblock.
Before she was allowed to leave at around 4.15am, the officers allegedly checked her mobile phone to ensure she had not recorded any video or audio of the incident.
The two officers, Shahrizal, 46, and Fizli, 34, have been charged under Section 384 of the Penal Code for extortion.
Under cross-examination, Ms Leow admitted she had consumed beer earlier that night but maintained she was not intoxicated.
She also denied claims that she had tried to use her political connections, saying she only stated her occupation in official police and Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS) reports.
Source: MyPenang
Ms Leow revealed that she had filed a report with JIPS on the day of the incident, but was told there was “no progress.”
Fearing for her safety and frustrated by the delay, she lodged a formal police report on 23 April.
During that period, she claimed to have received multiple calls from “different police stations” suggesting that if she withdrew the matter, her S$316 would be returned.
The trial is set to resume on 9 March next year.
Also read: 3 M’sian police officers arrested after teenage girl allegedly molested & extorted for money in KL
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Featured image adapted from Qin PinLi on Canva, for illustration purposes only, and MyPenang.