Bukit mertajam: Police today arrested four more individuals believed to be involved in a case of criminal intimidation and mischief against a vehicle driven by independent speaker Zamri Vinoth on March 7.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Penang police chief Datuk Azizee Ismail stated that the arrests were conducted by a team from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Seberang Perai Tengah district police headquarters, along with Division D7 of the Criminal Investigation Department from the Penang police contingent headquarters (IPK). The operation took place around Bukit Mertajam at 2.30 am.
"All suspects are local men aged between 29 and 31 years old, bringing the total number of arrests in this case to six," said Azizee. He added that several mobile phones of different brands, believed to be linked to the investigation, were seized. Despite having past criminal records, all suspects tested negative for drugs.
Azizee further explained that the suspects were remanded for two days to assist in the investigation under Section 506 of the Penal Code for making criminal threats and Section 427 of the Penal Code for committing mischief. Earlier, the police had arrested two individuals in their 20s following a report filed by Zamri regarding the incident.
The incident reportedly occurred on the roadside in Taman Aston Acacia Bukit Mertajam. A video uploaded by Zamri on Facebook showed his car being approached by a motorcycle ridden by two men, followed by several others, before his car was seen hitting the motorcycle.
Azizie also mentioned that the police are investigating another report made on March 8, which alleges that Zamri issued threatening, provocative, insulting, and racist statements in a live video on the TikTok application. The investigation is being conducted under multiple legal provisions, including Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, Section 504 of the Penal Code, and Section 233(1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
He urged the public not to make statements or disseminate unverified, provocative information that could incite hostility between races.