Fake cop arrested for extortion

MANILA, Philippines — A man who posed as a police officer was caught by real lawmen on Tuesday after he extorted money from his neighbor.

Operatives of the National Capital Region Police Office’s (NCRPO) Regional Special Operations Unit arrested Emman Rowe Masing, 24, after he received P8,000 in marked money from his victim in Makati City.

Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, the NCRPO chief, said the suspect sent a message to the victim on Aug. 31, identifying himself as a policeman.

Masing claimed the victim had a pending case for violation of the Cyber Crime Prevention Act of 2012 and asked him for P23,000 in exchange for deleting the case records.

The victim, worried that the policeman would spread rumors to ruin his reputation, gave only P1,500. But when the suspect asked for more money, the victim went to the police.