Fried kuey teow seller, security guard who offered outrider services nabbed

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KUALA LUMPUR: They were imposing police figures as they blared their sirens and lights while escorting a VIP’s convoy of luxury cars in Jalan Bukit Bintang.

But as they cut their way through the 7pm rush hour traffic while directing cars to make way for their VIP, the situation took a comical turn when the supposed “escort officers” got pulled over by the real police.

As policemen cuffed them, the VIP convoy consisting of a Chrysler, an Audi and a Mercedes Benz sped off.

They were dressed the part and their CBX 750 Honda motorcycles looked like regular patrol officer’s vehicle.

But they were not policemen.

“One of them was a fried kuey teow seller and another was a security guard,” said police officers as they pulled the imposters vehicles into the KL traffic police station.

The two 36-year-old men had been providing official-esque outrider services for foreign VIPs, namely from Zimbabwe and China.

They were dressed in yellow and blue jackets that resembled those of traffic officers and had blue and white helmets that looked almost similar to the ones worn by police.

The motorcycles they rode were retired police vehicles that were auctioned off and bought by the suspects for RM9,000 each.

But what unnerved officers here the most was the lengths the two men went to make it look like real police motorcycles.

“Its exactly the same!” said Kuala Lumpur staff officer for traffic investigation and regulation Deputy Supt Markandan Subramaniam as he inspected the vehicles.

The sirens and lights were the exact match of a serving police cruiser and the imposters even attached a “Terima Kasih kerana memberi laluan” sticker on the back mudflap of the motorcycles.

The only thing missing were the words ‘Polis’ on the vehicle, he said.

But hen officers checked the motorcycles’ storage compartments, they were shocked to find two ‘Polis’ stickers, two walkie-talkies and an official luminous yellow police jacket.

Police also found a bottle of soya sauce in the compartment of the fried kuey teow seller’s motorcycle.

“The suspects claim the jacket belongs to a serving police officer friend who gave it to them. We are looking into that. We are investigating how they obtained the parts to make their vehicles appear like police motorcycles and how long they have been operating like this,” DSP Markandan said.

“The reason why we are telling the public this is so they are aware that there may be people impersonating police officers with vehicles,” he added.

If an officer approaches a motorist, he said, members of the public should demand for the officer’s police card to verify their identity.

The two suspects will be held overnight at the KL traffic police station and are being investigated under Section 170 of the Penal Code for impersonating police officers.