JOHOR BAHRU - The Johor police will be calling up the couple from Singapore who claimed that officers at the Sultan Iskandar Building’s Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex had extorted RM500 (S$142) from them.

Johor police chief M. Kumar said a Facebook user named Irene Teo had alleged that they were asked to pay the amount to two traffic policemen to avoid getting a summons.

“The summons was issued for the offence of entering the lorry lane at checkpoint 8A from Johor Bahru to Singapore last Sunday (March 10) at 8.15pm.

“Until today, the police have not received any reports made by the victims regarding the incident,” said Commissioner Kumar in a statement on March 14.

“We have made an official request to the Singapore Consulate-General’s office in Johor Bahru to help identify the Facebook users named ‘Sage’ and ‘Irene Teo’ to help with the investigation,” he said.

The case is being investigated under Section 384 of the Penal Code for extortion, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine, whipping or any two punishments.

Mr Kumar added that the Johor police are dedicated to fighting criminal misconduct among their officers to boost public trust in the Malaysian police force.

“Any officer suspected of committing crimes will face strict action without compromise, following the principle of legal equality outlined in Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution,” he added.

On March 12, Ms Teo claimed that policemen in Johor Bahru had extorted RM500 from her boyfriend and her.

Another Facebook user named Sage then posted two videos of their experience showing the alleged modus operandi used by the policemen to reportedly extort money from victims.

Both posts were made on the MY SG Road Trip – Your Malaysia Road Trip Guide Facebook group.

At the time of writing, both posts had been shared over 600 and 800 times, respectively. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK