KUALA LUMPUR – A social media account, whose posts on allegations regarding three recent attacks against national footballers gained traction online, is fake, said Bukit Aman’s criminal investigation department director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain.
In a press conference at Bukit Aman here, he said the account using the name “Muhammad Imran Suresh” was found to be fake after police had investigated the matter.
“After we looked at it, (we found that) it’s a fake account,” Shuhaily added, expressing regret over supposed attempts to “derail” police probes by creating “negative perceptions” of people whose involvement in the cases remained unconfirmed.
“I’d rather stay on my course of investigations. At the moment, we have only identified the modus operandi (behind the three attacks). Whether or not the cases are related, we don’t know yet, but there are similarities.”
The account in question had claimed that politicians and gangster leaders were involved in the attacks, which targeted three national players over the course of one week.
Noting that Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has instructed investigations to be carried out into online accounts spreading hatred against national players, Shuhaily assured that police were monitoring the matter for potential developments.
Yesterday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said police were tracking down the owners of such social media accounts, stressing that such online content should not be taken lightly as they could result in excessive hatred.
On May 2, Terengganu FC player Akhyar Rashid sustained head injuries after his home in Kuala Terengganu was robbed. Days later, Selangor FC’s Faisal Halim fell victim to an acid attack at a mall in Kota Damansara.
Last night, Johor Darul Ta’zim player Safiq Rahim’s car was damaged by two unidentified individuals near the club’s training centre in Seri Gelam.
Police have since arrested two men to assist in probes into Faisal’s attack, with the first suspect having been released while the remand on the second suspect is set to end on Saturday. – May 8, 2024