MELAKA – Police have arrested 13 people, including a furniture shop owner, for allegedly attending a birthday gathering in Batu Berendam here that is said to involve secret society elements.
Melaka Criminal Investigation Department chief ACP Mohd Sukri Kaman said the suspects, aged between 20 and 50, were also fined RM2,000 each for violating the movement control order standard operating procedures (SOPs).
They were picked up from various parts of the state yesterday after police received a report on a 3:45-minute video recording of the gathering, he said in a statement today.
“Preliminary investigations showed that the ceremony was held between 4.30pm and 11.30pm on Monday at the furniture shop, attended by the owner’s close friends.
“Police found that at the end of the video recording during a cake-cutting ceremony, two men showed several hand signs believed to contain elements of secret societies.”
Sukri said police also seized a mobile phone from one of the arrested individuals who was believed to have recorded the video.
He said all the suspects have been released on bail, and the case is being investigated under Sections 50(3) and 52(3) of the Societies Act. – Bernama, July 22, 2021
