Johor police chief vows action on cops nabbed for extortion

JOHOR BARU: There will be further action if reports of extortion by policemen were not looked into, vowed the state police chief after four members of the police force were arrested for such activities.

In the wake of the arrests, Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said he would call up the Batu Pahat OCPD to help with investigations as reports showed that the four had been conducting their criminal activity for some time.

“We will investigate if there is any other police report made over similar cases that have not reached us, and if there is any report given to the OCPD or department chief and no action was taken, I will take action against them, ” he added.

Four officers, including an inspector, were arrested for extorting a factory manager in Batu Pahat.

“The group posed as ‘tax collectors, ’ collecting from plant to plant for quite some time, ” he added.

They demanded RM1,500 as payment to avoid action over a worker who did not have a work permit.

“The victim pleaded to pay RM1,000. The group agreed to the amount before leaving, ” he said.

He added that the suspects, aged between 26 and 46, were arrested after the victim lodged a report at the Johor police headquarters.

The case is being investigated under Section 384 of the Penal Code for extortion.

Comm Ayob also said that eight members of the police force had been sacked from January to April 14, with 12 set to face similar action next week.