Two police officers have been arrested to assist in an investigation into an alleged extortion case involving a man who later died of a heart attack.
Acting Baling District Police Chief Deputy Superintendent Ahmad Salimi Md Ali said the two suspects, aged 24 and 27, are being investigated under Section 385 of the Penal Code for extortion.
He said the arrests were made after a 74-year-old woman lodged a police report at 1.15am last Saturday, stating that her 32-year-old son had come home at about 7pm the previous day claiming he had been detained by police.
According to the report, the man, who was on a motorcycle at the time, said the police had confiscated his mobile phone and demanded RM200 for its return. While the mother and son were preparing to hand over the money, the man suddenly collapsed and became unconscious. Medical personnel from the Parit Panjang Health Clinic were called, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
Ahmad Salimi said a team from the Baling District Police Headquarters arrived at the deceased’s home at 11.30pm the same night and found no signs of physical injury or criminal elements. The body was sent to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital’s Forensic Department in Alor Setar for a post-mortem.
“Police investigations confirmed that the man died of sudden death syndrome. The post-mortem showed the cause of death was acute myocardial infarction, or sudden heart attack, with no signs of injury or foul play,” he said.
He added that a case under Section 385 of the Penal Code has been opened and the two policemen were remanded for two days to assist the probe. Background checks revealed that neither suspect had a criminal record and both tested negative for drugs.
Ahmad Salimi stressed that police view the matter seriously and that a disciplinary investigation paper has also been opened. He urged anyone with information on the case to come forward or contact the MERS 999 hotline.
