KUALA LUMPUR: The police have arrested a 22-year-old local man believed to be involved in a brawl at Low Yat Plaza on Saturday.
Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Zainuddin Ahmad said the brawl which happened at 7.38pm started because a suspect was not happy when he was by caught by security guards at the complex for allegedly stealing a mobile phone.
“The security guards took action by handing the suspect over to the police. The youth then contacted his friends who reacted by beating the workers at the shop (where the phone was allegedly stolen from) and broke several things there causing estimated losses of RM70,000” he said when contacted by Bernama yesterday.
He said police were currently tracing the suspect’s friends and urged the people not to link the incident to a racial issue, as portrayed on social media.
“Police will not hesitate to take stern action against the dissemination of false news that could disrupt public security and order,” he said.
Meanwhile, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s director for Kuala Lumpur, Muez Abd Aziz said the department is also investigating allegations of counterfeit goods being sold at Low Yat Plaza.
“We have sent officers to gather intelligence on whether there is any fraud done by traders, or vice versa, if there is fraud, the ministry will take further action,” he said. Muez said that so far it had not received a formal complaint from consumers regarding the sale of counterfeit goods at the complex, however, surveillance was always carried out to safeguard the rights of consumers.
Checks by Bernama at Low Yat Plaza yesterday found that the affected mobile phone shop was temporarily closed, and everything else there was back to normal.
One mobile phone seller, Ivan Lau, 20, denied the allegations made on social media that merchants in Low Yat Plaza sold counterfeit goods or ‘clones’, because the goods were purchased directly from authorised dealers.
“If I’m lying, I’m sure no buyers will come here … and besides, the Low Yat Plaza management will take action by imposing fines or shutting down immediately the shops which are found selling cloned items here,” he said. — Bernama