Lorry assistant claims cops demanded onions for Negeri border crossing

 

A lorry driver and his assistant were allegedly forced to 'leave' two sacks of onions at a roadblock in Negeri Sembilan before being allowed to pass the police checkpoint on Sunday.

It is learned that the incident took place about 2pm, when the 26-year-old assistant and the driver were on their way from Shah Alam, Selangor, to deliver onions and potatoes in the Seremban and Senawang areas.

At the roadblock near the Senawang toll plaza, their vehicle was not allowed to pass, allegedly because they failed to produce a police letter that gives them permission to travel from Selangor to Negeri Sembilan.

This was despite the lorry assistant and the driver having shown police personnel manning the roadblock a letter from their employer and the goods that they were transporting.

"The assistant was then, allegedly, asked to pay RM200. However, as he said that he did not have that kind of money, the cop allegedly asked them to give away 10 sacks of onions to all the personnel who were on duty at the checkpoint," said a source.

However, the assistant still refused to heed to the demand, saying that he would be facing a pay cut later to cover the losses, with each sack of onions said to cost around RM50.

Following this, the demand was reduced to only two sacks of onions. The lorry assistant then gave in to this demand and was told to put one of the sacks inside a car while the other was to be placed under a table inside a tent at the roadblock.

Sources said that the lorry assistant had lodged a police report in Shah Alam on Monday. This was confirmed by Shah Alam district police chief Baharudin Mat Taib when contacted last night.

Malaysiakini has reached out to the Seremban district police chief for comments. - Mkini