TRAFFIC STORY (PART 111) – HIGHWAY EXTORTION


Another road trip up North and another encounter with the traffic cops. I drove up and down at least 10 times last year and no problem. Nothing. Zip. 6 months down the line and suddenly I became a cop magnet. It seems like all their laser guns are trained and locked on me with GPS. At every turn and corner I am being flagged down. Is it the car? Are the celestial stars unfavourably aligned that cause my luck to change? Or are the cops getting more crafty and cunning.

The road block on the N-S highway last Friday was at the same spot - before the Tapah R&R. I saw on coming cars flashing some 30-40km away and slowed down to the speed limit. Despite that I was flagged down.

Cop: “Selamat pagi Tuan, tunjuk lesen.”
Me: “Apa kesalahan?”
Cop: “Melebehi had laju.”
Me: “Mana ada. Berapa laju?”
Cop: “125 km/jam.”
Me: “Dekat mana?”
Cop: “Slim River. Boleh minta gambar di Balai Polis Tapah.”
(Cop starts writing summon……….)
Me: “Summon kena bayar berapa?”
Cop: “Sudah lama RM300.”
Me: “Wah…mahal sangat……..boleh selesai.”
Cop: (Without hesitation) “Letak wang bawah i.c.”
(Took out RM20 and put below i.c.)
Cop: “Berapa mahu bayar?”
Me: (Shit.. want to bargain some more….but ignore him.. took out another RM10 and passed it to him. Cop took money. Pocket it and waved me on.)

After the extortion incident, it set me thinking. Slim River is like some 50-60km away. How could it be possible? Did I get conned by a bluff? Maybe I should have put on a cool poker face and dared him issue me the summon and see who blink first? We shall see….the next trip… hopefully I end up the cat and not the mouse.


19 December 2007

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