IPOH: An explosion in front of vacant shoplot at Jalan Datuk Onn Jaafar here today caused panic among passers-by who thought that a bomb had exploded.
The 11am incident also caused a traffic jam along the main road when motorists slowed down their vehicles to check on the situation.
However, a police team dispatched to the scene later confirmed that someone had actually thrown a firecracker into a giant flower pot.
Ipoh district deputy police chief Superintendent Anuar Othman said the explosion also shattered part of the flower pot.
"Eyewitnesses said that they saw a man wearing a crash helmet standing near the flower pot before he immediately fled the scene when the firecracker went off," he said here today.
He said the police forensic team and bomb disposal unit had also checked the scene. The case is being investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code for causing mischief.