PETALING JAYA: Police have opened four investigation papers on rumours and unverified claims on social media related to the coronavirus scare, including one insinuating that DAP leader Lim Guan Eng is in the way of restrictions against Chinese nationals entering Malaysia.
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Bukit Aman CID director Huzir Mohamed said police are investigating a Facebook user known as “Ibu Yati” who claimed that 1,000 people from China had entered Penang, and who asked if a curfew would only be imposed if Lim were infected.
Another investigation revolves around a Facebook post by “Roti Sardeen” who claimed a Chinese tourist from the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) complex in klia2 had died on a bus.
Police are also probing a Facebook group called “Gabungan Anak Terengganu (Original)” over a post claiming that patients infected with coronavirus were being treated at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital in Kuala Terengganu.
A claim posted in a WhatsApp group that a prisoner had died from coronavirus in Malaysia is also being investigated.
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Huzir said the investigations come under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for publishing or circulating claims that could cause public alarm, as well as Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998 for improper use of network facilities.
Meanwhile, police are also investigating Facebook user Kong Tuck Wah for sharing contents of a police report related to coronavirus.
Huzir said police will not compromise with those who spread fake news online.
“We will not hesitate to take action against those who sensationalise the issue,” he added. -FMT