On bribery and extortion

 

Rejected by newspaper editor              

 

Why is it in situations where police officers ask for bribes, we call it corruption or graft?

 

This is usually the case in newspaper reporting and in online discussions. Indeed, these words describe the immoral and illegal act of giving or taking something (usually money) for personal gain. However, these words also have other definitions.

 

Corruption for example, can also be used to describe the debasement of language. For instance, some might disagree with the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and say that bajet (uhuh, as in budget) is a corruption of the Malay language because there is an existing Malay word for it: belanjawan.

 

In botany it seems that graft refers to a shoot of a plant that is inserted in a groove of another plant where it continues to grow. No police officer or bribery is involved here.

 

Shall we call it bribery then when police officers ask for bribes? Well, not quite.

 

Bribery is when we, the Rakyat, offer police officers money in order to get out of trouble. A familiar example is when someone is pulled over for speeding: He offers the police officer money in the hope of avoiding a heftier fine.

 

These are the sampah masyarakat amongst us who prefer to ignore the fat button-badge on officers’ uniforms (and giant stickers on their patrol cars) telling us not to bribe them.

 

That bribery is still rampant in our country only reflects how morally bankrupt we are as a society, and of course, that the fat button-badge is on the whole a fat joke.

 

What do we call it then, when police officers themselves ask for bribe? It’s called extortion.

 

According to Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, extortion is “the act or practice of wresting anything from a person by force, by threats, or by any undue exercise of power”.

 

In legal terms the Dictionary defines it as “the offence committed by an officer who corruptly claims and takes, as his fee, money, or other thing of value, that is not due, or more than is due, or before it is due”.

 

Here is a classic example of extortion: Imagine a scenario in which a patrol car pulls over to talk to a group of say, Bangladeshi workers. They are asked to produce their identity cards and working permits for inspection. Suddenly, one of them is ushered into the patrol car.

 

Five minutes later, the Bangladeshi leaves the car to join his friends and the patrol car drives away. Let’s say you approach the group of Bangladeshis and ask them what happened. They tell you the officers asked for money, which they paid under duress for fear of deportation. This has occurred despite the fact their working permits are in order.

 

According to the Public Affairs Department in Bukit Aman, there is nothing irregular about police officers asking any civilian – citizen or not – to step into the patrol car for questioning.

 

The civilian however, is not obliged to enter the patrol car if he is not comfortable doing it. Uhuh, if you have not done anything wrong, you can say no to the police officers and state that you would rather be questioned out in the open.

 

Unfortunately, in the example above, the Bangladeshi may have felt intimidated and obliged to obey any and all instructions. Should this happen to you, and if you are asked for money, do not allow yourself to be intimidated.

 

You are being extorted. This situation is not simply one of corruption. More precisely, you are being robbed because you are asked to give something up against your will. In such cases, resist the demand. Write down the patrol car number, and if possible the staff number on the police officers’ uniforms.

 

You should then file a report at rmp@rmp.gov.my and perhaps even write to the newspapers about it. If you happen to drive by others who are in a similar situation, find out what’s going on. You are entitled to know what is happening on public roads.

 

This will also send a loud message to errant police officers that the Rakyat is watching and yes, we will pull over and be nosey.

 

Do not under any circumstances offer police officers a bribe simply because you are scared. That would make you sampah masyarakat, the same way you are sampah masyarakat when you see others bribing or extorting but chose to just drive by.