TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of Malaysians who watched the Djakarta Warehouse Project (DWP) 2024 music concert in December 2024 became victims of extortion by a number of police from the Polda Metro Jaya (Jakarta Metro Police). They were extorted after being asked to undergo a urine test. They were then accused of consuming drugs.

The Malaysian citizens were then detained in a room, not a detention cell, at the Polda Metro Jaya. They were asked to hand over money so they could get out.

Amir Mansor (29 years old) a citizen from Malaysia told the story of how the incident began. At that time, he and 8 of his friends were taken by people who claimed to be from the police, while at the Djakarta Warehouse Project (DWP) 2024 music concert on the evening of December 13, 2024, or the first day the music concert began.

Amir said that at that time he and 8 of his friends were walking out of the DWP 2024 concert venue, and there were already police waiting. "The police called my friend, and I came along because the police called my friend," he said in Malay when contacted by Tempo via telephone on Friday night, January 3, 2025.

At that time, Amir admitted to seeing many other Malaysians being questioned by the police. "We were taken to the Polri Metro Jaya police station—(Polda Metro Jaya), then urine tests were carried out. Some of us were negative and some were positive. But there were no drugs in our hands, we consumed them in Malaysia, we did not consume them directly," he explained.

After the urine test, said Amir, his personal cellphones and those of his 8 friends were confiscated by the police. "Can't make calls, can't appoint your own lawyer, and can't call the embassy," he said.

Amir said that he and 8 of his friends stayed at Polda Metro Jaya for 2 nights, they were not held in a prison cell, but at the Polda Metro Jaya office. "We asked how we were going to get out? The police said that if we wanted to get out, we had to pay 800 million rupiah," he said.

Amir and his friends then negotiated with the police, because they did not have the nominal amount of money that was stated as a requirement for release. "We said (talked) too much, while we had nothing, no drugs, and some of us were negative," said Amir.

The nominal amount that Amir and his friends could collect at that time was 50 Malaysian ringgit or Rp179 million. The nominal amount was rejected by the police. "The police agreed with one amount, they wanted 100,000 ringgit or more or less Rp360 million," explained Amir.

After the negotiation figure was agreed to be released for Rp360 million, according to Amir's story, the police immediately returned the confiscated cellphone, and then Amir and his 8 friends contacted their respective families to collect the money for the nominal amount.

"So we were locked up until we got Rp360 million, after that the next day we were released," said Amir.

Amir and his 8 friends were at the Jakarta Metro Police office from the evening of December 13 to December 15, 2024. "At 13 at night they were arrested, taken to the office, so at 15 at noon (afternoon) they came out," he said.

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