PETALING JAYA: A coalition of Muslim rights groups are being investigated by police for allegedly calling for donations towards the funds meant as bail for five Foodpanda delivery riders who were arrested for rioting in Sungei Way here last Friday.
Petaling Jaya police chief ACP Mohamad Fakrudin Abdul Hamid said today police have not allowed or offered bail for the five delivery riders who are aged between 19 and 40 and being held under a two day remand order.
“We believe there are individuals or associations that are taking advantage of the situation by seeking donations for their personal benefit. Police have not imposed any bail on the suspects,“ he said.
Mohamad Fakrudin said on Saturday evening a police officer from the district CID had spotted a posting in social media platform Facebook purportedly by a group of Muslim rights associations that claimed it was raising funds for the bail of the five Foodpanda riders.
He said the posting claimed that a bail of between RM3,000 and RM4,000 for each rider is expected to be imposed and those who wished to contribute could channel their donations to a given bank account number which is believed to belong to a Muslim rights association.
Mohamad Fakrudin said the officer lodged a police report and an investigation for cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code and the misuse of network facilities under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act is underway.
“We urge the public to not be easily fooled by such postings that implicate the police when seeking donations. We also advise the public to carry out checks with the police as a preventive measure from falling victim to social media scams,“ he said.
On Saturday evening, a group of Foodpanda riders set upon a 29-year-old customer and dragged him to the Sungei Way police station for allegedly misusing the word “Allah” when placing an order for food.
The infuriated riders showed up at the customer’s house before assaulting him.
Police arrested the man and the five riders.
The customer is being probed for uttering words that can cause religious sensitivities under Section 298 of the Penal Code while the riders are being probed for rioting.
