QuickCheck: Was a man beaten up in Ipoh as seen in a now-viral video?

A video that has since gone viral on social media shows a man being beaten up outside a food court. It is claimed in Facebook posts accompanying the video that the incident happened in Ipoh after the man damaged items at the food court after being told to wear a mask. Did this happen as alleged?

VERDICT:

TRUE

In a statement on Feb 5, Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Hassan confirmed what was seen in the video and added that a 44-year-old man was arrested at his house in Kuala Kangsar on the same day.

"We were informed about several videos that went viral showing a man whose actions brought harm to others around the area," he said.

ACP Yahaya added that the initial investigation showed that the man entered the food court around 9am on Feb 4, unmasked and wanted to buy drinks at a local stall at Taman Ipoh Timur.

"Several passers-by told him to wear a mask but he refused and started screaming, leaving the premises," he said.

ACP Yahaya said the man then returned to the premises holding a wooden pole and started hitting several items.

"He hit the computer screen, the temperature stand and a glass stand at one of the stalls. He also hit a few people using the pole and a car," he said.

ACP Yahaya added that the suspect's next-of-kin also lodged a police report after he was hit by a few people during the incident.

"We are now investigating and hope the public will not speculate on the incident," he said.