KUALA LUMPUR: After a chilling and bitter encounter with a group of policemen recently, it will never be the same safe feeling he had always felt in the presence of the police for this 50-year-old private school teacher.
After being chased, assaulted and held at gunpoint, he also lost more than RM8,000 that the patrolmen extorted from him.
Recounting the incident on May 4, the teacher who spoke on anonymity told theSun that it was about 4am when he drove his 27-year-old female relative to her home at an apartment near the Jelatek LRT station, off Jalan Ampang.
He said he had parked his car when several men showed up and pointed their torchlights at his face and his relative while shouting and ordering them to step out of the vehicle.
The teacher said as the carpark was dark and isolated, he was became suspicious if the men were criminals and quickly sped off from the place.
He said he then noticed that five men were persuing him on motorcycles and on arriving near the Gleneagles Hospital at Jalan Ampang, he realised they were policemen in uniform.
“I was still suspicious and told them to go the the Ampang Jaya district police headquarters where I will meet them. However, one of them pointed a pistol at me and I was terrified. I quickly pulled over and was surrounded by the policemen. They kicked my car door until it dented. When I stepped out of the car, the assault began. I was kicked in the abdomen and smacked on the head several times while they swore at me. On seeing this, my relative was shaking in fear and started having breathing difficulties. Only then did the police stop hitting me. I begged the policemen to call for an ambulance or send her to the nearby hospital but they ignored me,” he said.
He said while the other policemen searched his car, another accused him of trying to run them down with his car and warned that he could shoot me.
The teacher said although the accusations are not true, he was extremely terrified at the sight of the armed policemen and begged them for mercy.
“This was when the policeman demanded for RM10,000 to “settle” the matter and release me. As I feared for the safety of my life and that of my relative, I agreed although I did not have the money. I asked my relative if she could loan me the cash and she agreed. However, her bank debit card was not with her and escorted by the policemen, we drove to her house at the apartments before collecting the card with the knowledge of her mother.” he said.
The victim said he and his relative were then led to five different bank branches in Ampang Jaya, Pudu and Cheras where cash withdrawals were made at the automated teller machines (ATM).
“We could only raise RM8,000 from the withdrawals and then we were taken to a secluded spot near the Metro Mall in Pudu where the cops demanded I hand over the cash to them. At the place, I saw two young men being beaten up by the other policemen. A policeman then told me that I was lucky as the two young men had been caught to “replace” me and my relative.”
It is believed that the policeman had meant that the two men will be produced to his superiors as the ones held instead of the teacher and his relative.)
He said after that a policeman returned his cellphone and MyKad before allowing him to go home.
The victim said on checking his car, he found RM550 which he had kept in his glove compartment to pay for an insurance policy was also missing.
The teacher who is married with five children and lives in Ampang said on May 8 he lodged a police report after taking up the case with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and federal police.
“I was advised by the MACC and Bukit Aman to make a report. The police are supposed to protect the public but these policemen had behaved worse than robbers and snatch thieves. After I made the report, a policeman who was among those who had extorted from me called me up and asked me to retract my report. He said he was willing to pay me up to RM10,000 to resolve the matter. I want justice and also support the government’s move to form the IPCMC to address such atrocities My relative and I are so shaken up by this that even the sight of a policeman leaves us terrified. Before this we felt so safe in the presence of police.” he said.
KL police chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said police are investigating the case as extortion under Section 384 of the Penal Code.
He said the policemen are not suspended from duty and police are trying to acertain if there is any truth to the case.
“Investigations are ongoing and we will not compromise if the personnel were involved in the case.” he told theSun.
Federal police Integrity and Standard Compliance Department (JIPS) director Commissioner Datuk Zamri Yahya said his department is investigating the case for breach of conduct and standard operating procedures.
“Pointing a handgun and extorting are criminal offences. This will be investigated by the CID. JIPS will probe the personnel for non-compliance of work procedures and power abuse.” he said when contacted by theSun yesterday.
