JOHOR BARU: Another allegation of policemen extorting money from travellers at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) here has resurfaced.
This time involving a 50-year-old Malaysian who had been travelling across the Causeway on a daily basis for the past 12 years.
The victim who only wants to be known as Ng said the incident occurred on Jan 4 at around 8.40 pm as he made his way to go back home through BSI.
"I was stopped by two men who were not in uniform who identified themselves as policemen and showed me their authorisation cards. They instructed me to give my mobile phone and passport to them for inspection.
"They made allegation that there were pornographic materials inside my phone, which I denied, and escorted me to a room for interrogation.
"Once inside the room, one of the men told me that I had two options available, which was they would take me to the Larkin police station or I could pay them RM1,000 to settle the case," he added.
Ng, who was working as a factory operator in Singapore, said this in a press conference organised by Johor MCA youth chief Heng Zhi Li after lodging a report at the Johor Baru South police station here on Friday (April 19).
He added that at the time he only had RM200 in cash but the men told him that the amount was not enough as they claimed there were eight other policemen in their team.
"They then took me to an ATM machine located inside BSI near the KTM ticketing counter to withdraw the amount needed to pay them, which I did.
"After withdrawing the amount, they brought me to a public toilet where one of them was standing outside to guard the door while the other one followed me inside.
"The man then told me to go into one of the cubicles while he entered the one next to me. His hand then appeared on top of the cubicle telling me to handover the money," he claimed.
Ng said once he handed over the amount, they then returned to him his passport and mobile phone and he immediately left BSI to go back home.
Meanwhile, Heng said the matter was quite concerning as this was the second allegation of policemen extorting money from travellers at BSI that has come to light.
"There must be serious action taken by the police to address this matter as BSI is an important gateway for people, locals and foreigners, to come into Johor.
"If there is no proper action, then it could damage Johor in the long run," he said, adding that those that face similar problems should immediately lodge a report with the police.
When contacted, Johor Baru South acting OCPD Lim Jit Huey confirmed the report lodged by the victim and said that the investigation was ongoing.
Earlier this month, police arrested two policemen for trying to extort RM1,000 from a local man at BSI.
