An aide to a Penang executive councillor has accused two police officers of extorting her of RM1,000 in order to “settle” a drink driving fine.
Currently, the two officers, Shahrizal Ali and Fadzli Jamaludin, have been charged under Section 384 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine, or both.
Stopped by officers at roadblock
Testifying in the trial held at the George Town magistrates’ court on Tuesday (Dec 23), Mandy Leow said she was stopped at a roadblock along Jalan Anson near the Penang Buddhist Association around 2.25am on March 14.
She said was then told to exit her vehicle and take a breathalyser test, but claimed she was not shown the printed result, alleging that one of the officers rolled the test up and placed it in his pocket, reported FMT.
Allegedly taken to ATM to withdraw RM1,000
Leow said the officer informed her that the punishment for drink driving was a RM10,000 fine and prison. He also advised her to sit in her car and “think it over”.
The other officer later came over and said that he could “help” Leow in reducing the fine amount by half, prompting Leow to tell him that she only had RM1,000 left in savings.
Leow said she was made to sit in the passenger seat of her car as a man in plain clothes drove her to a convenience store along Magazine Road which had an ATM.
There, she was allegedly instructed to withdraw RM1,000 and was taken back to the roadblock where she handed the cash over.
Leow’s phone was also inspected to ensure that she didn’t have video or audio recordings of the incident before she was allowed to leave at 4.15am.
Admitted to drinking before incident
During cross-examination, Leow admitted that she had consumed beer before the incident but insisted she wasn’t intoxicated.
She also denied revealing that she was an aide to an exco in order to flex her political connections, adding that she merely stated her occupation in official police and Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS) reports.
Leow said she filed the JIPS report but was told there was “no progress”. She later filed a police report on April 23 out of concern for her personal safety.
She also claimed she received multiple calls from “different police stations” suggesting that she could recoup the RM1,000 if she withdrew the report.
The trial is scheduled to continue on Mar 9, 2026.
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