PETALING JAYA: Three policemen were arrested for allegedly extorting RM70,000 from a company director at a carpark of an apartment at Persiaran Tropicana, Damansara here on Tuesday.
The three rank-and-file police patrolmen who are in their 30’s are attached to a police station in the district.
They were held on Wednesday after the 34-year-old director lodged a police report soon after the incident at 6.30pm.
Sources said earlier, the victim had met with his friend at the carpark and collected about RM190,000 from him.
The cash was from the sale of the victim’s luxury watch which his friend had helped him to sell.
It is learnt that after his friend left, the victim placed a bag containing the cash on the front passenger seat as he prepared to leave the carpark.
Just when he was about to reverse his car, three policemen on motorcycles showed up and blocked his path.
Sources said the policemen ordered the victim to step out of his car before one of them frisked him and took away his cellphone and MyKad.
The policemen then searched his car and upon finding the cash in the bag, they allegedly accused him of being involved in moneylaundering activities, claiming it was a serious offence to carry large amounts of cash in a car.
Despite explaining himself, the rogue cops threatened him with arrest and imprisonment.
They also told him that his friend who helped him sell the watch could face the same consequences.
More that an hour later, the policemen demanded for a share of the cash from the victim if he wanted to be freed.
Fearing for his safery, the victim took several wads of cash amounting to RM70,000 and handed it over to them.
Sources said before the policemen left the scene with the cash, they also searched the victim’s car to ensure there were no dashboard cameras that were recording the event.
The victim then made a police report.
Although the director could not identify the policemen as they wore police vests and face masks, investigators managed to trace their identity and arrested them promptly.
Investigators also managed to recover the stolen cash from the rogue cops.
It is learnt that the suspects who had served the police force for between 10 and 20 years had allegedly shared the cash equally among themselves.
Petaling Jaya police chief ACP Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid (pix) told theSun that the detained policemen are being held under a three-day remand order for investigations.
He said the men are being investigated for extortion.
“This is a very serious matter and we do not view it lightly. We will not compromise with such acts committed by members of the police force and will ensure they face the full brunt of the law if investigations show they are involved in the case,“ he told theSun.