Cops nab man for allegedly insulting Johor Ruler

JOHOR BARU: A man is being investigated by police here for insulting Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar on social media.

Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said that the man was nabbed at about 9.25pm on Friday (Oct 8) at his house in Ulu Tiram.

"We received a report from the Johor Royal Family and Communication Office media unit chief at around 2.03pm on Friday about a Twitter post which contains insulting remarks towards the Johor Sultan and the Royal institution,” said Comm Ayob.

"Following an investigation, we were able to identify the owner of the Twitter account in question and arrest the 42-year-old man in his house in Ulu Tiram," he added at a press conference at the Johor police headquarters here on Sunday (Oct 10).

He noted that the man has a criminal record and is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998.

"We have recorded a statement from the suspect and the case is still under investigation," he said.

He added that if convicted, the suspect could be slapped with a maximum RM50,000 fine, be jailed for up to a year or face both upon sentencing.

On a separate case, Comm Ayob also said the police have also recorded a statement from a bogus "Datuk Seri" who claimed to have received a Letter of Undertaking (LoU) from Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku İsmail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim to conduct currency exchange.

"We have recorded statements from two individuals, including the woman 'Datuk Seri' and we will be recording statements from two others. We are also checking the accounts and documents involved in the case," he said.

Asked if the case involved politics, Comm Ayob said to wait for the investigation to be completed.

"Do not be influenced by comments on social media. Let the police complete its investigation first

Whether or not it involves politics, we will investigate," he added.

On Friday, Comm Ayob said that the police are on the hunt for a woman with a fake "Datuk Seri" title for claiming to have received a Letter of Undertaking (LoU) from Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku İsmail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim to conduct currency exchange.

"The woman had claimed to have an LoU from Tunku Ismail to conduct financial exchanges from US dollars to Malaysian ringgit. The LoU is fake,” said Comm Ayob.

"She also claimed to have been given the consent to convert between US$200bil to US$5 trillion into ringgit, under a local bank account which is registered to a local man," he added in a statement issued on Friday.