SEREMBAN: A man and his wife who acted out a family suicide with their nine-month-old baby son in a video that they shared in the social media were arrested by police here last night.
Seremban district police chief ACP Mohd Said Ibrahim said today that the man and his wife, both aged 29, were arrested at an undislosed location here after a police report was lodged when the video surfaced yesterday evening.
He said the case is being investigated for “publishing content that may cause public fear and alarm” under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code, “causing physical and emotional distress to a child” under Section 31(1) of the Child Act and the misuse of network facilities under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.
Mohd Said said investigations are ongoing and urged the people to not commit any act that can cause public disorder.
Federal police CID director Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan said today that as stated by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah such acts can lead to copycat suicides by those at such risk.
He urged the public to be aware of sensitive matters and to use the social media responsibly.
The man who identified himself as Reuben George created the video to send out a stark message to the government and politicians on the plight of thousands who are distressed with unemployment and destitution.
He claimed to have lost his job and turned to e-hailing to earn an income.
George said he felt depressed as a result and lashed out at the movement control order and discrepancies of the loan moratorium offered by banks.
In the 16-minute video taken in a car, he is seen carrying his son before using a syringe to draw out a liquid from a bottle claiming it is poison.
He feeds the liquid to his son as his wife watches and calls on lawmakers to witness it.
George took a swipe at the immunisation programme calling for it to be carried out door-to-door instead of centres which he claimed left recipients susceptible to infection.
Saying that his actions were mere “role play” and he was acting out the suicide, he also raised several other issues including the approval to allow EPF withdrawals which will leave many without enough funds in old age.
