KUALA LUMPUR: Police warned Malaysians to cease and desist in turning the scuffle-accident that led to the death of a 29-year-old man last Saturday into a racial issue.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Mazlan Mansor said they had detected attempts by some irresponsible quarters seeking to manipulate the incident into a racial issue.
“Many speculations have been made on communication and social media platforms involving the incident which led to the death of a man.
“We also detected some parties' attempt to manipulate the incident (into a racial issue), threatening the nation’s unity and public order," Mazlan said.
He also called on members of the public to stop spreading fake news on the incident.
“The Royal Malaysian Police has already issued several official statements on the cause of the incident. Arrests have been made against suspects who were involved,” he informed.
“We advise people to not abuse communication networks in a way which could create division and threaten unity as well as cause racial and religious polemics.”
Meanwhile, Mazlan urged witnesses of the incident which claimed the life of Syed Muhammad Danial Syed Syakir, to come forward and help the police in their investigations.
He said police have called the brothers-in-law and father-in-law of the victim to get their statements.
Syed Muhammad Daniel’s father-in-law Mohd Rozhan Ramlee, 57, and the victim’s brothers-in-law Azraei Arief, 22, and Zafri Amir, 19, had their statements recorded at the Kajang district police headquarters at 10.30am today.
He said Zafri Amir was the earliest to arrive on the scene before the victim was taken to a health clinic and later transferred to the Nilai Medical Centre where he died.
“Azraei Arief also gave him CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) en-route to the Nilai Medical Centre. I hope my children’s statements can help police investigate the matter in detail,” Rozhan said.
Earlier in the day, Rozhan declined to meet reporters who were camped outside his home.
He said the family had received many calls and messages from various individuals claiming to be witnesses of the incident.
“But they gave a lot of excuses, including wanting to meet me personally when I advised them to lodge police reports.”
A couple, aged 40 and 36, were remanded for seven days from Sunday until Aug 17 to assist in investigations.
Selangor Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Fadzil Ahmat said preliminary investigations revealed that the fight between the couple and the victim began at about noon.
An accident took place near the Sungai Besi toll plaza (southbound), where both the victim and the couple's cars collided.
The victim was said to have slammed into the rear of the couple's car.
Thereafter, both vehicles were involved in a high-speed chase with one another, until both cars stopped at an exit after the Bandar Baru Bangi toll plaza, at KM293.5 of the North-South Expressway.
A fight broke out between the victim and the couple, which prompted other motorists to intervene and calm them down.
After the situation calmed down, they returned to their respective cars.
However, the victim, who was still allegedly unhappy, was said to have alighted from his car, armed with a baseball bat and began swinging at the front portion of the couple's car.
In a panic, the driver accelerated his vehicle towards the victim, which saw him being pinned in between the car and the road divider.
Those with information on the incident are urged to call Bukit Aman at 03-22668311 / 22668320 / 22668321 or present themselves at the police headquarters to give their statements.