A man who was driving along an expressway in Malaysia was allegedly pulled over by a traffic police officer and asked to pay RM,2000 to avoid being taken to the police station.
Asked to check driver’s phone
In a viral Facebook post on March 13, a woman said her husband had been driving along an expressway in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, when he was pulled over by a traffic police officer.
I straight-up told them:
“If you’re gonna arrest him, just do it.”
I really never imagined something like this would happen to my husband.
Just a while ago, in Permas — right along the same row as McDonald’s — he was driving when a Civic pulled him over.
It wasn’t your regular patrol; it was…
At first, my husband thought it was just a routine check.
But the officer immediately reached out: “Hand over your phone.”
He complied.
They scrolled a bit and spotted a record of him buying some 4D lottery tickets — just the occasional small play for fun, a few ringgit at a time, never anything big or sold to others.
Then the officer smirked: “You know what this means.”
Straight away: “Two people, RM1000 each — total RM2000. Settle it now, or we’ll take you back to the station.
Once there, it won’t be this amount anymore.”
My husband was stunned. He didn’t have cash on him — I usually handle the money.
He could only secretly call me, voice shaking: “Wife, help!
They’re asking for RM2000, or they’ll take me to the station.”
The moment I heard, I was furious.
It’s not that I’m not scared — it’s just… what kind of nonsense is this?
Buying 4D lottery tickets isn’t even selling them, and it’s hardly some major crime.
Stopping cars in broad daylight to check phones and then demanding money — is this law enforcement or what?
I got on the phone and told them directly:
“We don’t have that kind of money at home. If you really want to arrest him, go ahead. Worst case, he gets locked up for a few days.”
After a pause, I added:
“RM200 total — that’s our limit. It’s almost Chinese New Year; let’s help each other out a bit.”
Honestly, I had no idea how they’d react when I said that.
Guess what?
He replied: “OK.”
Then he told me to transfer the money to my husband right away so he could withdraw it from an ATM and hand it over.
I was dumbfounded.
Seriously, it was that straightforward?
The whole thing felt like negotiating a business deal — haggle done, transaction complete on the spot.
While I was transferring the money, I kept thinking: Are things really this bad now?
Are they that desperate for cash?
Later, my husband came home safely.
Money gone, but he’s okay. I asked if he was scared — he said yes, but what made him angrier was: He hadn’t done anything really wrong, yet he was treated like this.
I’m sharing this not to fish for sympathy, and definitely not to encourage anyone to “stand up” the way I did.
We got lucky this time — they accepted the bargain. If we’d met someone more stubborn, the outcome could have been very different.
I just want to remind all drivers out there:
Try not to keep any sensitive records on your phone, especially anything related to 4D lottery buys.
If you’re stopped and they want to check your phone, stay calm. Record if you can (audio/video discreetly).
If they start demanding money, don’t panic or transfer on the spot. Find a way to contact family first.
If you’re really threatened or extorted, report it afterward no matter what — otherwise, they’ll just keep getting bolder.
We ended up treating this as “lose money to avoid disaster,” but I truly hope this is the last time anyone has to go through it.
Checks to be based on reasonable suspicion, random checks not allowed
According to local news outlet Bernama, police are authorised to inspect a person’s mobile phone—but only those with a rank of Inspector or higher can do so.
The Inspector-General of Police said the authority is provided under Section 23(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code and is also supported by provisions in the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
However, the search must be based on “reasonable suspicion”, rather than random checks, The Star previously reported.
This means that the police may only access a person’s mobile phone if:
- a police report has been lodged
- a person is under investigation, or
- if there are suspicions of involvement in criminal activity.
It could otherwise be considered an abuse of power, and those who feel that their phones have been checked without a valid reason are encouraged to make a police report, Malaysia’s home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said.
Source : Facebook
Source : Mothership
