KUALA LUMPUR – Police have received 42 reports of socks printed with the word “Allah” at a KK Mart outlet.
Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain told Berita Harian the reports were lodged nationwide.
He said the probe will continue even though the supermarket company had apologised and withdrawn all stock of the offending socks.
“The case is being investigated under Section 298A of the Penal Code… and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
“Police remind the public not to speculate and be sensitive towards issues that can cause unease,” Shuhaily told the Bahasa Malaysia daily.
KK Supermart & Superstore Sdn Bhd (KK Super Mart) founder Datuk Seri Dr KK Chai on Saturday apologised profusely at a press conference on Saturday, explaining that the socks were imported from China and were among 1,200 other pairs each with different designs.
He admitted he did not do a full inspection of every pair but stressed that of KK Mart’s 800 branches nationwide, only three outlets carried the socks, and only 14 pairs had “Allah” on them.
KK Mart has also lodged a police report on the matter.
Meanwhile, Berita Harian reported on how the episode has spilled over to social media and angered a group of people when a man posted a sensitive comment on the issue.
A man who uses the name Ricky Shane CA on Facebook was called in for questioning by police in Kota Kinabalu for posting the comment on the social media platform to a news article on the socks.
Kota Kinabalu district police chief Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said police have called in the man for questioning for his statement that allegedly insulted Muslims.
Separately, a group of people who know the Facebook user’s real identity had also gone to his apartment to search for him after he posted the comment.
The men waited outside the door of the condominium lobby in the Sabah capital where the suspect lived and attempted to wait for him until security asked them to disperse.
The Facebook user has reportedly apologised to Muslims for hurting them with his comment. – March 19, 2024