KOTA KINABALU: Five people including a woman were held after a Japanese bodybuilder claimed he was robbed by a gang who were "in cahoots" with the police here.
The athlete, a key official with the Asian Bodybuilding Federation, had posted on social media a short video of the men taking money from him.
He had claimed that a man who identified himself as a policeman was with them at an alley in Kampung Air yesterday about 3pm.
Police's subsequent investigation led them to the gang and dismissed the claim that a policeman was involved.
Cash amounting to RM1,400, USD65 and 10,000 Japanese Yen were also recovered from the suspects.
City police chief Assistant Commissioner M Chandra explained that the Japanese man had confronted one of the gang members after they took his money.
"A detective, who was in the area where an anti-narcotics operation was being conducted, had approached them.
"He showed his warrant card to diffuse the situation and was not able to understand what the Japanese man was saying. He advised the foreigner to go to the police station and lodge a report," he said.
Later at the police station here, the Japanese man saw the detective and accused him of being part of the gang on social media. He posted a video on YouTube and posted his allegations on his Facebook account.
Chandra said the five suspects were nabbed between 12.55am and 3am in the city after the bodybuilder lodged a report last night.
Investigations showed that the foreigner was lured into a lodging house by a woman who told him he had a nice physique.
Once inside, he was surrounded by four men including one who grabbed his wallet. The group then walked out of the building as the Japanese man followed them to the street where they argued.
"The detective who saw this went over to prevent things from becoming worse but unfortunately there was a communication breakdown."