Penang cops looking for two men over road sign vandalism

The road sign at Pengkalan Weld that had been sprayed with black paint. —ZAINUDIN AHAD/The Star

GEORGE TOWN: Police are looking for two men who allegedly sprayed black paint on a road sign here which have Chinese characters as the second language.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Soffian Santong said two police reports had been lodged over the case, which was allegedly caught on video.

"We have identified the suspects and further investigations will be done accordingly," he said.

ACP Soffian said the case will be investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code for mischief, Section 505(c) of the Penal Code is for making statements with intent to incite others and Section 233 of Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of network services.

Penang Island City Council, in a statement, said it had lodged a police report on the vandalism.

Dual language road signs have existed on the island, especially on historic roads.

While the road names are prominently spelled out in Bahasa Malaysia as usual, the signs bear a sub-text in either Jawi, Chinese, Tamil or even Gurmukhi (Punjabi script), depending on the histories of these roads.

The two men, recorded on video, made remarks against the use of the Chinese language on the Gat Lebuh Armenian road sign.

A check showed that only the Gat Lebuh Armenian and Pengkalan Weld road signs in the heritage enclave were defaced with black spray paint.