A New Scam In Town

Source : Anonymous
Dated: May 2004

I just heard a few days ago that a new type of crime has surfaced in town. It goes something like this. Somebody slips a handphone into your pocket. Sometimes it could be just a wallet with an identity card and a few ringgit. A few minutes later, the 'owner' comes up and confronts you, the 'thief '.

He makes a big commotion that you stole his stuff. You, caught unawares, are then pulled aside by the 'owner' for a settlement. You are intimidated and threatened that if you do not pay up the police will be brought in.

If you pay up, this 'owner' lets you go. If not, the police are brought in. Another strange thing is that there always seems to be a 'witness' to your 'theft'.

I am told this often happens to foreigners at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) or even at LRT trains. Given that you're 'guilty until proven innocent' as far as the Malaysian police are concerned, I understand some poor people are in jail for these 'offences'.

At the KLIA, the 'owner' throws his handphone and wallet with the few ringgit notes into the luggage trolley of a just arrived passenger. The drama unfolds a few minutes later. The real culprit has easily convinced our Malaysian police to arrest the real victim (if he has not paid up the 'settlement' demand).

This is a very serious matter. This is another form of extortionists operating in broad daylight. They are disgusting criminals who will do anything to rob and steal. The sickening part of the whole scenario is that the real culprit gets back his handphone and wallet but the real victim is thrown into the police lock up.

Can somebody please get to the bottom of this before foreign visitors get wind of this crime and cancel all future travel plans to Malaysia? And before innocent Malaysians get thrown into jails for an offence they never committed?