KOTA KINABALU: An Italian who is cycling across Sabah as part of a world exploration attempt allegedly had rocks thrown at him while he was sleeping at a village in the Ranau district.
The incident, which was believed to have happened on Oct 8, was uploaded on Nicola Chiacchio’s social media page, as he wanted to share his experience and create awareness on the matter, especially for the parents of the children involved.
He believed he had been hit with rocks after several teenagers saw him sleeping. The video was, however, taken down on Oct 9.
Ranau OCPD Supt Mursalin Mahmud said after receiving news of the incident,a team was formed to investigate the matter.
They spoke to Nicola and got the information from him, and had also identified some of the said teenagers who had thrown rocks at him, he said.
Supt Mursalin said Nicola did not lodge a police report over the matter because he felt that the teenagers did not mean real harm, but only wanted to scare him.
Nicola told police some of the teenagers had apologised over their actions on his social media page.
Supt Mursalin said the police took these actions seriously and urged the public to not act rashly or do anything without thinking of the consequences.
He thanked the Ranau community for their concern and for sharing needed information throughout the investigation.
“I would also like to thank Ranau folks who welcome and treat our tourists well,” he added.
Nicola has since moved on and continued with his solo ride to the Kota Marudu and Pitas districts.
