JOHOR BARU: Johor Police are investigating two traffic officers for allegedly extorting a Singaporean citizen in an incident at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI), here on March 10.
Johor Police Chief Commissioner M. Kumar said police were alerted of the incident after a viral video posted on Facebook by a user named Irene Teo on the 'Sage' page.
"We are investigating the officers believed to be involved in extortion following the spread of two video clips on Facebook social media sites yesterday.
"The video clips were also reviewed through an article uploaded by the Mothership news website on March 11," he said in a statement today.
Kumar said, based on the viral content, it is believed that the name 'Irene Teo' was instructed to pay an amount of S$142 (RM499.40) to the two traffic police officers at BSI to avoid being issued a summon.
"The victim is said to have committed an offense by entering the truck lane at inspection area 8A towards Johor Baru to Singapore on March 10 at around 8:15 pm," he said.
Kumar said the investigation is being conducted under Section 384 of the Penal Code for extortion.
He said, so far, they have not received any reports from the victim regarding the incident.
Kumar said a formal request has been made to the Singapore Consulate Office in Johor Baru for assistance in tracking down the owner of the Facebook page 'Sage' and 'Irene Teo' to assist in the investigation.
Kumar stressed that the police are committed to combating integrity issues and criminal misconduct among their personnel to enhance public confidence in the police force.
Members of the public with any information related to the incident can contact the hotline of the South Johor Bahru District Police Headquarters (IPD) at 07-2182323 or contact the investigating officers, Inspector Suhana Abdullah Sadali at 019-8853599 or Inspector Nizam Ramon at 011-16086119.