GEORGE TOWN: A 38-year-old man, claiming he was fined unfairly for cigarette smuggling, is feared to have drowned. The man is believed to have abandoned his motorcycle on the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge earlier today.
According to a Facebook posting of one Sukri Lahar Yooi, which has since gone viral, the man faulted the government and the country’s leadership for the unfair treatment against him.
He posted seemingly “last words” to vent his frustration of having to fork out a RM4,000 fine for a minor offence of selling counterfeit cigarettes worth a mere RM200.
He claimed that even though his offence was minor, he was remanded for a week. He was released earlier because his third son passed away during his remand period, he wrote.
The man also said he owed his friend RM4,000 for the fine, which he paid because he did not want to go to jail. He also bid farewell to his loved ones in the Facebook posting.
This morning, at about 8.30am, motorists spotted an abandoned motorcycle parked on the bridge and alerted the rescue authority.
As of press time, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Marine Police are still searching for the missing motorcylist, although it cannot be ascertain if it is one and the same as the Facebook poster.
State Customs Department director Datuk Pudzi Man has declined to comment when contacted by the New Straits Times as he was unsure of the man’s actual identity.
He also did not rule out the possibility that some tricksters could be playing a prank on Netizens.