Police: 'Politician' with box of cash who died in accident is fake news

KOTA KINABALU: Police have rubbished a message making its rounds on social media, which alleges that a Sabah Barisan Nasional politician died in an accident and a huge pile of money was found inside his car.

On Saturday, Ranau OCPD Deputy Supt Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah dismissed the allegations and said that the message was not true.

"This is fake news. When police combed the scene, they did not find any money, be it in a box or in the vehicle itself," he said.

The message was also debunked by Barisan Nasional on its website.

Citing reports from two national dailies, Barisan said that the accident did not involve Semporna Umno leader Datuk Abdul Hajan Gurimbang Hajan, but his driver and two family members.

Barisan clarified that the accompanying image of a box containing money, which was allegedly found in the wrecked car, was also fake.

"The photo was from a 'fake money' case in February this year. Police have also denied the authenticity of the photo," said Barisan on its website.

Abdul Hajan's wife Datin Rositah Abdul Ghani Shah, 54, and their daughter Nurul Zafirah, 23, were seriously injured when the SUV they were travelling in collided with another SUV and a lorry along Taviu Hill in Ranau on Tuesday (April 17) afternoon.

They were on the way back from Kota Kinabalu to Semporna when the vehicle they were in skidded and crashed into an oncoming lorry.

Unable to stop in time, the other SUV rear-ended the crashed vehicle.

Abdul Hajan's driver Sulaiman Harianto, 28, was killed instantly.

It was reported that Abdul Hajan's wife died in a coma on Thursday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak took to Twitter to express his condolences to Abdul Hajan and his family on Saturday.

Earlier, he condemned those involved in disseminating the fake message.