ALOR STAR: Police have obtained a three-day remand order against a 37-year-old man who went berserk inside a coffee shop in Simpang Kuala here yesterday.
The incident was captured on video, clips of which have gone viral on social media.
In the first of three video clips, the man is seen waving what appears to be a meat cleaver at restaurant patrons and policemen at the scene.
It is learnt that the 12.45pm drama unfolded when the man stormed onto the premises with the weapon, sending patrons and workers running away helter-skelter.
He then moved to a corner of the shop and began smashing items around him.
Police who arrived on the scene had to seek help from the Fire and Rescue Department when the man grabbed hold of a cooking gas cylinder, threatening to cut the gas pipe and light a fire should anyone try to arrest him.
The next two video clips show firemen dousing the man with high-pressure water in a bid to force him to release the meat cleaver.
The trick worked and the man was subsequently apprehended by the policemen.
Kota Setar district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Rozi Jidin said the man claims to have run amok because his mobile phone went missing at the shop.
Rozi said initial investigation showed that the man, who has a previous record involving vehicle theft, is not mentally-ill as claimed by some netizens.
"We have obtained a three-day remand order against the suspect and the case is being investigated under Section 6(1) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensives Weapons Act 1958," he said.
The man is staring at a jail sentence of not less than five years and not more than 10 years, and is also liable to whipping upon conviction.