MIRI, April 11: A video allegedly showing a hotel building in the Resort City on fire has gone viral since this morning.
The video with a playing time of 20 seconds, has shocked locals here as the video purportedly showed Imperial Hotel Miri which is a familiar landmark here, with its roof and top floors on fire.
However, further checks by the DayakDaily, including a visit to the hotel, determined there was no such incident.
The building is still standing tall and business appeared to be proceeding as normal.
A source claimed that the incident captured on the video actually occurred in a neigbouring country.
When contacted, Miri police chief, ACP Lim Meng Seah said there were no reports lodge over the alleged incident.
“People should be more responsible before posting anything on social media….stern action can be imposed on anyone who simply post fake news or incidents which can create public panic,” he said.
Lim added, any individual or party found to be disseminating fake news may be liable under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.
Hence, he advised the public to stop circulating the video and spreading fake news.
Meanwhile, the hotel’s management released a statement via their official Facebook page debunking the video.
In the three-paragraph statement, Imperial Hotel Miri firmly stated that the video footage circulating since this morning is not related with their building or any of its building groups.
The 23-storey apartment building which was built in early 2000 is a 4-star hotel in the city. — DayakDaily
