KUANTAN: A trader has been detained by police for allegedly insulting Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on Facebook.
State police chief Datuk Mohd Zakaria Ahmad said the 43-year-old man was detained in Kuantan before he was taken to the Temerloh district police station where a report was earlier lodged against him.
"The man was detained under the Sedition Act and will be investigated over his Facebook posting. We hope to complete investigations and submit the investigation paper to the Deputy Public Prosecutor's office for further action.
"The public should respect the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the royal institution instead of taking matters into their own hands," he said when contacted today.
It was reported that a Facebook user wrote "muka macam ‘end of the World’ hihi"(face resembling end of the World' hihi) at the comment section below the image of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah Ibni Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al Musta’in Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tengku Ampuan Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah on Facebook yesterday.
Yesterday, 20 organisations comprising non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government departments and political bodies lodged police reports against the Facebook user for allegedly insulting Al-Sultan Abdullah.
Meanwhile, district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Noor Yusof Ali said two men were arrested for allegedly threatening the trader in front of his premises in the state capital here yesterday.
He said the duo - aged 32 and 36 years old respectively - who were recorded in a video clip confronting the businessman was picked up after the 45-year-old victim lodged a police report at the district police station last night.
"Investigations revealed that the two men had gone to the victim's premises about 2.30pm and rebuked him for posting an insulting comment against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah) on social media recently.
"About two hours later, the two men along with two others had gone to the premises and scolded the victim before challenging him to fight," he said, in a statement today.
He said the duo were detained under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation.