Leave It To The Law Bukit Aman Warns Vigilantes In Socks Row

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Police will not hesitate to take action against vigilante groups who take matters into their own hands in the issue of socks bearing the word Allah, warns Bukit Aman.
Its Criminal Investigation Department director Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the public should leave it to the police to enforce the law.
He also urged Muslims to be more patient during the holy month of Ramadan.
“We (police) have already conducted investigations and actions have also been taken under the law.
“They should leave it to authorities to enforce the law. By taking matters into their own hands, it would not help to defuse the situation and instead make it worse.
“This is a holy and blessed month. Yes, we (Muslims) are hurt by this incident but our country has laws. So, it is better if action is taken in the context of lodging police reports,” he told a press conference at the federal police headquarters this morning.
Shuhaily was asked to comment about recent incidents related to the socks case, which saw several individuals who made comments deemed insulting to Muslims being doxxed and confronted by vigilante mobs.
This includes a case in Kuala Lumpur, where a man apologised after being confronted by an influencer silat instructor and his friends. The man’s personal details were also circulated across social media.
The 35-year-old man was also sentenced to six months in jail and fined RM12,000 by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court this morning.
‘This country has laws’
Adding further, the senior cop assured that police would investigate every report made to them.
“If (the vigilantes commit a crime, such as making criminal intimidation and such, then yes we will take stern action against them. Or if there is a police report.
“This country has laws. If you go beyond the law, you will have to pay the price.”
The senior cop added that no police report had been made regarding an arson threat received by the factory which supplied the controversial socks.
Shuhaily also advised religious figures in the country to stop fanning the flames on the issue, especially since actions have been taken by authorities.
He said they should play a part in diffusing tension instead of adding to it.
News anchor case being probed
On a separate matter, Shuhaily said the case of a news anchor who wrote a letter accusing a police officer of rude conduct is still under investigation.
He said police need to study all the evidence carefully as they do not want to be accused of taking sides.
“So far we are still studying all the evidence because there is no supporting evidence that can back the story of either of them.
“We try to be as neutral as we can because this involves the police force itself. We don’t want to be seen as we are taking sides,” he told reporters.
It was reported that police opened an investigation against Muhammed Ahmad Hamdan, who works for TV3, over a letter he wrote that was published in the New Straits Times.
In his letter, Muhammed alleged a patrol officer was rude and unprofessional when carrying out an inspection in front of his house in Subang Jaya. - Mkini

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