2 cops acquitted of extorting RM1,000 from woman at roadblock

 Magistrate Nadratun Naim Saidi rules that the prosecution failed to prove charge against duo beyond reasonable doubt.

The George Town magistrates’ court cited inconsistencies in the complainant’s account, delayed reports, unclear CCTV footage, and evidence supporting one officer’s alibi.

GEORGE TOWN:

Two traffic policemen charged with extorting RM1,000 from a woman at a roadblock last year have been acquitted by the magistrates’ court here.

Magistrate Nadratun Naim Saidi ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against Shahrizal Ali, 46, and Fadzli Jamaludin, 34, who were charged under Section 384 of the Penal Code.

In her grounds of judgment, Nadratun said there were inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence and that the credibility of the complainant, Mandy Leong, 31, was in doubt.

She noted that the officer who conducted the breathalyser test had testified that Leong was intoxicated, aggressive and difficult to control before the test, which showed she had exceeded the legal alcohol limit.

Nadratun also noted that Leong lodged a report with the police integrity department five days after the incident, but only filed a formal police report more than a month later.

She said the delay, coupled with Leong’s condition at the time, raised doubts over the accuracy of her account.

Nadratun accepted the defence’s alibi for Fadzli, finding that duty rosters showed he was not at the scene during the alleged incident, a finding corroborated by an independent witness.

She also found that CCTV footage tendered at trial did not clearly identify the officers involved.

She further questioned the prosecution’s decision not to call Rizal Saberi, a police inspector whom she described as the best-placed witness to explain how Leong came to be released from the roadblock, saying it had instead left it to the defence to decide whether to call him.

During the trial, Leong alleged that she was stopped at a roadblock along Jalan Anson in George Town and later driven to an ATM to withdraw RM1,000, which she claimed she handed to one of the officers after being threatened with arrest for drink driving.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Danial Amir Saad, while RSN Rayer, S Arvind and S Saachithanathan represented the accused. - FMT