I was driven to ATM to get money for cops, woman tells court

An aide to a Penang exco member says two traffic cops threatened to arrest her when she was stopped at a roadblock.

The George Town magistrates’ court heard that one of the accused told Mandy Leow, an aide to a Penang executive councillor that he could help her halve the RM10,000 fine for drink driving.

GEORGE TOWN:

 The trial of two traffic policemen charged with extorting a woman was told that the cops had stopped the 31-year-old at a roadblock before driving her to an ATM and asking her to withdraw RM1,000.

Mandy Leow, an aide to a Penang executive councillor, told the magistrates’ court here that she was stopped at a roadblock along Jalan Anson near the Penang Buddhist Association around 2.25am on March 14.

Leow said she was asked to get out of her car and take a breathalyser test, but she was not shown the printed result. Instead, one of the accused rolled it up and placed it in his pocket, she said.

She said the officer then told her the penalty for drink driving was a RM10,000 fine and jail, before telling her to sit in her car to “think it over”.

According to Leow, another traffic policeman came over saying he could “help” halve the fine amount, to which she replied she only had RM1,000 in savings.

She was then told to sit in the passenger seat of her car while a man in plain clothes drove her to a convenience store along Magazine Road which had an ATM.

“I thought I was being taken to the police station,” she said, adding that she was instructed to withdraw RM1,000 from the ATM.

Leow said she was then driven back to the roadblock, where she handed over the cash. Her phone was also checked to ensure she did not make any video or audio recordings, before she was allowed to leave around 4.15am.

Leow was testifying in the trial of traffic policemen Shahrizal Ali, 46, and Fadzli Jamaludin, 34, who were charged with extortion under Section 384 of the Penal Code.

During cross-examination by defence counsel RSN Rayer, Leow admitted to consuming beer earlier that night but maintained that she was not drunk.

She denied repeatedly stating that she was an aide to Penang executive councillor Lim Siew Khim in the hope of exerting political influence, saying she merely stated her occupation in her police and integrity and standards compliance department reports.

She also denied that a visit to the Penang police chief with Lim was an attempt to exert influence over her case, saying the courtesy call was largely related to her boss’s matters.

Leow added that she only brought up the lack of response to an earlier report she had lodged with the police’s integrity and standards compliance department (JIPS).

She said she filed the JIPS report shortly after the incident on March 14 but had been told there was “no progress”.

Leow only filed a police report on April 23 as she said she felt unsafe prior to that.

She told the court that she had received multiple calls from “different police stations” suggesting that she could get the RM1,000 back if she dropped the matter, prompting her to finally lodge the police report.

The trial before magistrate Nadratun Naim Saidi continues on March 9.

Deputy public prosecutors Ahmad Danial Amir Saad and Lau Shavin prosecuted. Lawyers S Arvind and S Saachithanathan also appeared for the accused. - FMT