The police confirmed that the incident was not as claimed by this social media user.
KOTA KINABALU (Dec 8): The police confirmed that there was no attempted kidnapping of a child in Penampang, as alleged by a woman on her social media post.
The post on Facebook shared that there was an attempted kidnapping of a seven-year-old child by two persons at a shopping center in Penampang.
It has been circulating in the social media since Thursday.
Penampang district police chief Superintendent Sammy Newton said in a statement on Friday that the Penampang District Police Headquarters received a report on December 7 that an unknown individual had allegedly tried to pull a child’s arm.
He said the incident happened when the complainant was walking in a supermarket in Penampang on November 6.
“Police investigation found that at the time of the incident, the complainant was in a shop looking for jewellery.
“One of his three children who were at the back suddenly screamed and the complainant found an unknown woman near her son.
“Following interrogation on the complainant, police found that there were no criminal elements as claimed,” he said.
Sammy insisted that there was no attempted kidnapping of a child in a supermarket. He said the fact contradicted the complainant’s testimony.
“Therefore, the police ask the public to stop spreading the issue in order to avoid misunderstandings that could cause worry and threaten the safety of the community.
“Any individual found spreading fake news can be prosecuted under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
“If found guilty can be fined not exceeding RM50,000 or imprisoned for a period not exceeding one year or both,” he said.