A tourist has vowed never to return to Malaysia after having 3 bad experiences in our country, with the 3rd being an incident involving PDRM officers who allegedly extorted RM3,500 from him.
Taking to Reddit, the tourist explained that he was walking back to his hotel in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, at about 3am when the patrol officers approached him.
He wrote, “I was walking from a restaurant to my hotel. Since I felt full, I decided to walk back. Suddenly, 2 patrol officers stopped me and asked me to handover my bag (I had my tablet and detergent for my clothing). And they asked me to empty all of my pockets and gather all of my stuff on their motorcycle.”
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The officers allegedly went through his Telegram and crypto exchange apps
The tourist added that the officers allegedly did not give him a reason for the stop and search, and proceeded to make him unlock his devices for them.
During the search, the officers found an adult Telegram channel, which the tourist understood was illegal but explained in his post that he did not produce nor share the content, so it was “technically okay”. The officers also found a crypto exchange app.
“They made a big deal out of the Telegram channel as well as a crypto exchange application they found. They saw how much crypto I had and tried to frame me as a crypto money launderer or scammer, citing that simply having the account is illegal,” he explained.
The tourist further shared that the officers apparently told him a court case would cost him US$10,000 (RM44,282.77).
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They allegedly demanded US$800 from him
“This was my first time dealing with the police (I have never even dealt with the police in my home country), so you can imagine how panicked I was, given that I was walking alone at 3am and having my first ever police check,”
“They led me to an alley and demanded US$400 (RM1,771.16) each, a total of US$800 (RM3,542.33) for 2 officers,”
They even took me on their bikes back to my hotel, gave me only my keycard and told me to fetch the money in 5 minutes. I only got my phone, tablet and wallet back after giving them the money,” he said.
Having already endured 2 other bad experiences in Malaysia, which were not disclosed, he shared that his views on Malaysia have been shattered and that he’ll never return for another visit.
An investigation has been launched
He later left a note on his post that he managed to get his money back after a visit to IPD Dang Wangi.
“I went to the Dang Wangi Police Headquarters and got my money back, as well as scolded those patrols officers in front of other officers with their permission,” he added.
According to a report by China Press, Dang Wangi District police chief ACP Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman shared that no reports have been made in regards to this incident but an investigation has been launched.
WORLD OF BUZZ has since reached out to IPD Dang Wangi for a statement but has yet to hear back.
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
Also read: M’sians Call For Sign Language to Be Taught in Schools Following Viral Video of JPJ Officer
