A Singaporean couple was allegedly made to pay RM500 (S$142) to officers at the Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex in Johor, Malaysia.

The experience was made public by the Singaporean woman, Irene Teo, who was travelling in the car with her boyfriend.

The post was shared to the "MY SG Road Trip - Your Malaysia Road Trip Guide" Facebook group with more than 75,000 members on Mar. 11.

Travelling towards Causeway

Speaking to Mothership, Teo said she and her partner, both in their late 40s, were travelling back home towards Singapore in the direction of Woodlands at around 8pm on Sunday, Mar. 10.

Just as they were reaching the immigration checkpoint on Malaysia's side, they saw two officers in blue uniforms open up the lane usually reserved for lorries and heavy vehicles of the land crossing.

A Singapore-registered vehicle in front of Teo's car was apparently instructed to use the lane that was opened up.

However, after proceeding forward with the car in front, Teo and her boyfriend found themselves at a side road devoid of other vehicles except the other car.

Teo said: "I think they must have been as clueless as us. It’s a young Chinese male driver with two young girls inside."

They were in the customs area for heavy vehicles, Teo said, as she recognised the posts where immigration officers sit in for passport clearance are higher so as to accommodate the trucks that pass through.

Teo added: "An officer spoke to the other Singapore car then made a call, and a few minutes later, two officers in vest came riding on their motorcycles toward our car and the other car."

The two officers were in white shirts, blue pants, and green vests with the word "Police" or "Polis" at the back.

An officer then asked the couple if they had previously used this route to go back to Singapore.

In her post, Teo said she and her partner informed the officer that the lorry lane had been opened up for them and that they were asked to proceed without knowing it led to an "unauthorised" area.

Felt unsafe

Teo said she and her partner "immediately felt unsafe" and "knew the policemen were in cahoots".

The officer then asked her partner for his driving licence and passport and said he will "help" them get back to the car lane to return to the immigration customs.

In return, Teo said he allegedly asked for RM600 (S$170), as a fine for driving to an unauthorised lane.

Teo claimed that the officer told her that the alternative was for them to go to the office and lodge a report, pay a fine, and have their particulars taken down, "which is not good" for them.

"We told him we can go to the office to pay the fine officially, but he just simply ignored us," Teo said.

She added that one of their passports was with the officer at the time.

Paid RM500 (S$142)

The couple paid him RM500 (S$142) as that was all they had.

The officer then led the couple's car back to the car lanes.

Teo explained: "He asked us to follow his bike and he led us to the queue. He blocked the cars and asked us to enter the car lane."

When asked if she will return to Johor Bahru for leisure after this, Teo said she would, adding:

"But I will make sure I have a car camera installed and also to avoid coming back on Sunday night. I will need to be more careful in future."

Teo said she has since emailed the Johor chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi following the incident. The text of the email, seen by Mothership, recounts the incident in detail.

Teo also said she tried reaching out via Instagram to the son of the Johor Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar. Sultan Ibrahim was sworn in as the country’s head of state in January 2024.

"Hopefully they read my message," she said.

She also said she would like to highlight this incident to inform other Singaporeans who drive into Johor Bahru.

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Top photos via Facebook & Getty