Foreign man who accused cops of extortion is Interpol wanted over ‘scam’ case, says KL police chief

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — The foreign man who claimed he was extorted by individuals believed to be police officers has been identified as a person wanted in China in connection with a fraud case, police said.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Fadil Marsus said the information was obtained through checks with the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol), Sinar Harian reported.

“Further checks also found that the man was not a citizen of Vanuatu as claimed, but is believed to be a Chinese national,” he said in a statement today.

Fadil said there were also doubts over the passport submitted by the man, as the document stated that he was born in Pontianak, Indonesia.

“This differs from Interpol’s checks, which found that his place of birth was in China,” he said.

Last Friday, 12 police officers and personnel of various ranks were reportedly detained after they were suspected of extorting RM2 million from a Vanuatu national.

According to sources, the man was released only after paying US$140,000 (RM560,000), before lodging a report at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters.

Those detained included officers holding the ranks of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), who were held to assist investigations.

Bukit Aman’s Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS) also opened disciplinary investigation papers against the 12 police officers and personnel suspected of being involved in the alleged extortion.

Fadil said based on the latest information, police detained the man together with two women, one from China and another from Thailand, at about 1.30am on Monday.

“They are being investigated under Section 12(1)(b) of the Passports Act 1966, Section 6(1)(c) and Section 56(1)(l) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 relating to offences involving travel documents and immigration,” he said.

However, Fadil said the complainant’s Thai companion was released after checks by the Immigration Department of Malaysia found that her documents were valid.

“A 14-day remand from Monday until August 9 was obtained against two individuals, namely the complainant and his girlfriend (a Chinese national), to assist further investigations.

“The case is still under investigation and will be referred to the deputy public prosecutor for further instructions,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fadil confirmed that police had detained 15 officers and personnel believed to be linked to the case, but all had since been granted police bail after the completion of initial investigation procedures.