TAIPING: Claims that a Bangladeshi man wearing a pink quarantine wristband is roaming around the Bukit Gantang Rest and Service (R&R) area here as depicted in a video that has gone viral on social media are not true, said Taiping district police chief ACP Osman Mamat.
He said the man who was caught being inspected by the police on the one-minute 37-second video was a Malaysian and was not wearing the pink wristband as claimed.
“A police team went to the location after receiving a call from the highway patrol unit regarding a 53-year-old local man who had lost his way at the R&R.
“The man who hails from Kampong Pondok, Padang Rengas and lives with his sister in Ipoh had hopped into a lorry to get to Alor Setar, Kedah to find a job before stopping at the R&R area. A restaurant worker then contacted the auxiliary police to seek help,” he said in a statement here today.
Osman said the police then sent the man to the Kamunting Bus Station and bought him a bus ticket to Ipoh so that he could return to his sister’s house.
As such, he advised the public to verify news shared over social media and avoid spreading false information as it can cause unnecessary fear and panic among the people.
Spreading fake news is also an offence under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000 or a jail term not exceeding one year or both, upon conviction. — Bernama
