KUALA LUMPUR – The British road-tripping couple who paid RM100 to a policeman for a purported speeding summons say police have apologised to them.
On X, the couple, known as Chris and Marianne, posted on their @TREADtheglobe account that the Royal Malaysia Police had contacted them to investigate the incident.
Following the last video, we can confirm that we have been communicating with the Royal Malaysian Police. We've given them the unedited video footage, date, time and location of the incident. They have apologised and confirmed that they are investigating this incident pic.twitter.com/scLHNxOTq4
— treadtheglobe (@TREADtheglobe) February 1, 2024
“Following the last video, we can confirm that we have been communicating with the Royal Malaysian Police.
“We’ve given them the unedited video footage, date, time and location of the incident. They have apologised and confirmed that they are investigating this incident,” they said in the post.
Meanwhile, Bernama reports that three policemen who were remanded for alleged soliciting of a bribe from the couple were released today by the Ipoh magistrates’ court.
Magistrate Siti Nora Sharif dismissed an application by the Perak police’s investigation and traffic enforcement department for the trio’s remand to be extended.
The police officers, aged between 37 and 42-years-old, came to court wearing hoodies and face masks.
They were represented by lawyers Muhammad Al-Hirzan Mahamad Akhir and Aqmarul Aqil Ismail.
Their lawyers later told media outside the court that the magistrate rejected the extension because the victims had not come forward, in addition to other technical issues, the New Straits Times reported.
The case is being investigated under Section 384 of the Penal Code, Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1988.
Police were earlier looking for the couple to help in the investigation into a policeman who settled their alleged speeding offence on the spot with a RM100 payment – an incident captured on video that has since gone viral.
The video shows the policeman offering the couple the choice of paying RM300 for a speeding ticket at the nearest police station, or to pay RM100 on the spot.
The couple gives him RM100, but the video does not show the policeman giving them a receipt or any form of acknowledgement of receiving the payment.
The video also shows the couple wondering if they had really committed an offence.
“But were we actually speeding? I guess that’s one thing we’ll never know,” says the husband, identified as Chris in the couple’s social media and website details.
Under the MACC Act 2009, it is an offence to give as well as to receive a bribe. The penalty for both the solicitor and giver is imprisonment for not more than 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher. – February 1, 2024