LANGKAWI: Police have launched an investigation into a viral video of a policeman allegedly soliciting a RM100 bribe from a tourist who was flagged down for committing a traffic offence on the island in November.
Langkawi police chief Assistant Commissioner Shariman Ashari are gathering information on the alleged incident and vowed to take stern action against those involved.
"On Jan 29, 2024, we noticed a viral video of a foreign tourist who was not wearing a crash helmet (while riding a motorcycle) and made a payment of RM100 to avoid from being taken to the police station and being fined in Langkawi.
"We are currently gathering information regarding the incident depicted in an original video that was uploaded on YouTube on Nov 10, 2023.
"We will not protect any individual involved and will take a stern action against them," he said in a statement today.
Shariman also urged those with information on the incident to assist police in the investigation.
The video, a snippet from the YouTube channel belonging to the tourist, identified as Australian Luke Damant, showed that he was flagged down by a policeman for riding a motorcycle without a crash helmet.
The video contained a conversation between him and the policeman who had allegedly asked him to make a payment of RM100 to avoid being taken to the police station.
The video ended with the tourist informing viewers that he had proceeded to a back alley to make the payment.
Damant's video surfaced following a viral video uploaded by United Kingdom's YouTubers claiming that a traffic policemen solicited RM100 from them in Simpang Pulai, Perak, recently.
Following the incident, three policemen from the Perak police's Traffic enforcement and Investigation Department were detained yesterday.
Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan had said police came across the video which had gone viral on social media and confirmed that the incident took place in Jalan Simpang Pulai-Cameron Highlands here.