But..I was entrapped!
We were driving on the North-South Highway on Saturday when we were stopped by the Malaysian police for going over the speed limit.
The officer appeared to be scribbling a summons ticket, while my friend KY, the driver, fumbled for his driver's license. We waited to see what the officer would say. He mumbled something in Malay, which we could not understand. KY asked repeatedly, "So how much is the fine?" Now KY, you see, is a greenhorn when it comes to driving in Malaysia. It didn't even occur to him that there could be possibly another way of handling a summons situation in Malaysia. The rest of us passengers whispered amongst ourselves and were deliberating if we should "offer another solution" but since KY was the driver, we thought we would let him take charge.
After some time, the officer was still hovering around our car, the summons ticket still not leaving his hands. Finally, he leaned over the window and asked KY, in English, "You want summon or not?" KY turned around and asked us, much to our bemusement, "He wants money, is it?" We broke out in guffaws and said, "Of course lah!"
So, instead of paying RM150 at the police station, we ended up lining this officer's pocket with RM50, which he accepted swiftly and waved us on our journey.
Now, lets get this straight. We do not believe in bribery. We would never do this in Singapore. But, waylaid on a highway in foreign soil, and cornered by a law enforcement officer, we succumbed. We became partners in crime.
Which led me to think about Adrian Yeo, and how he was lured into bringing drugs to an undercover CNB officer. The recent argument about the entrapment tactic of the CNB folks made me wonder if had our recent experience occurred in Singapore, say if a Singaporean police officer had asked us if "we want summon or not" and since we were given a choice, we decided to pay him, rather than pay the fine, and then later we were hauled up for "bribing a public servant", could we plead the case that we were entrapped? ("He made the offer first", "He tempted us", "We wanted to pay the fine but he wouldn't leave us alone", etc).
I'm no expert on the nuances of the law. But suddenly, the furore over the CNB officer's tactic began to make some sense to me.
posted by trisha @ 6:34 PM
4 Comments:
Aha! The solution is simple. Next time you get stopped for speeding in Malaysia, insist on not bribing the policeman. That is, insist on getting a ticket. Chances are, you will be waved off anyway.
Why? Because the vast majority of these policemen are NOT SUPPOSED to be stationed on the highway! They are town/off duty policemen and they have left their posts to make a quick buck! Hence they are in no position to issue you a summons.
Now even if they were legit, they are still there to make quick money! The longer they take to "suggest" that you "settle" (like in the case of your inexperienced friend), or if you insist on a ticket, other willing payers are just zooming by, and they are missing out!
Other tactic - don't even waste time. Just stick a RM50 out the window as you slow down at the checkpoint. The officer will be so scared of being seen openly taking money that he'll just take the money and wave you off! I've done this several times without coming to a complete stop!
Hmm...
First Kenny Sia, then me, then you!
Malaysian economy must be going downhill!..
*grin*
Was wondering why your posts had crawled to a stop...
hugewhaleshark:
The policemen may not be legit??!!
Oh my...
This is so sick.
pc:
Hi there!! I'm still here, don't worry!
A very good anlogy to Adrian's case.!
Had been "entrapped" by the police before, but I was as malaysian as the Malaysian policemen. Knew all their cunning ways. All these years, had managed to wriggle out of a tricky situation. I hate the look of dollar signs printed on their faces!
Now, I am beginning to hate the smug looks (if any) of any "entrapment" police in Singapore. Yes, thanks for a great job in helping to keep crime rate low in our small nation, but if Adrian's case is going to be repeated, soon we will have a new disease called APS - Acute Paranoia Syndrome which might perhaps be even harder to cure than SARS because the mental faculty of humans is more fragile.
Will write about this in a forthcoming article in my blog. Akan datang mata mata!
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