When it comes to going into JB, there are three things that used to be true.
One, you’re guaranteed cheaper food and shopping the moment you get over the causeway.
Two, don’t dress too nicely or you’re going to get robbed.
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And three, policemen in Malaysia can be convinced to let you go with a bit of coffee money. Sometimes, they’ll even stop you and shake you down for bribe money.
Unfortunately, while the first two are still true, the last one isn’t anymore. Mostly.
Honest Police Arrests Myanmar Man
On 16 Nov 2019, WorldofBuzz reported that a Myanmar man was arrested at Jalan Daeng Selili, Kuala Kangsar.
His crime?
He was driving without a license.
But that’s not the worst part.
He Tried to Bribe The Two Police Officers
So there he was, about to get into trouble in a foreign country.
Then, he thought of a brilliant idea.
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Why not try to spend some money to avert a disaster?
So he did.
Unfortunately for him, the policemen were not thirsty at that point in time.
They immediately place cuffs on him and brought him to the police station.
And so, rather than just traffic offences, he can now be charged under the Malaysian Anti-corruption Act 2009 for trying to bribe a public official.
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A crime which could land him with a hefty fine and some jail time.
Risky To Bribe The M’sian Royal Police
Even as far back as 2007, there were warnings online about how Singaporeans shouldn’t try to bribe Malaysian police officers.
Not because of the fact that bribery is wrong, as far as the police officers are concerned; it’s because they’ll take the chance to shake you down for even more money.
Back then, a Malaysian senior police officer spoke out to ask “Malaysians to stop tempting law enforcement officers”.
Throughout the years, the Malaysian has been hard at work weeding out corruption within their law enforcement officers, even going as far as to provide a higher cash reward for reporting bribery attempts than if they were to accept the bribes.
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Moral of the story? Don’t try to bribe Malaysian officials because you never know if you meet a law-abiding officer or a corrupted one.
Some might even just pretend to be corrupted so you’ll offer them money, then turn around and arrest you for the reward cash.
Rule of the thumb? Don’t do anything stupid overseas. At least not stupid enough to warrant you bribing your way out lah.
Would you be jailed for being half-naked in public? Well, the answer will shock you. Seriously. Watch this to the end and you'll understand:
