ALOR STAR: Police today denied there was a fight involving death during Thaipusam celebration in Sungai Petani last Saturday, that went viral on social media yesterday.
Acting Kuala Muda District Police chief Supt Shamsudin Mamat said police had received information about a posting on a Twitter account using a name ‘Tehpanas’ which read “Sembahyang Thaipusam di Sungai Petani gaduh, budak kena pukul mati on the spot” (A fight broke out during Thaipusam prayers in Sungai Petani, a child was beaten, died on the spot) at 11am today.
“A check found that there were no cases of fights involving death during Thaipusam prayers this year, however, there was one case of a (normal) fight reported and the victim only suffered minor injuries,” he said in a statement.
He said the police had initiated an investigation against ‘Tehpanas’ under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 which provides a maximum fine of RM50,000 or one-year jail term, or both if convicted.
“The Thaipusam celebration in Sungai Petani went well,” he said, adding that police had detained and remanded three local men, aged between 23 and 27 years old, to facilitate the investigation into the fight under Section 324 and 148 of the Penal Code.
“We urged members of the public not to spread fake news including via social media,” he added. - Bernama
