By DayakDaily Team
MIRI, Oct 30: Four local men aged between 25 and 32 have been arrested for allegedly being involved in two cases of vandalism involving red paint being splashed outside residential properties here, reported on Oct 20 and 22.
Miri district police chief ACP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Miri District Police Headquarters (IPD) received a report regarding one of the incidents on Oct 22 at about 3.11pm from a 54-year-old local man.
He said the incident involved red paint being splashed on the gate and floor outside the complainant’s house at Jalan Acorus, believed to have stemmed from demands for repayment of an online moneylending debt involving the complainant’s son.
“The complainant also received threatening messages from an individual using the name ‘Kelvin’, demanding payment of the debt if it was not settled,” he said in a TVS news report.
The complainant discovered the incident on Oct 21 at about 10pm while reviewing CCTV footage from his residence, which showed two unidentified men arriving before one of them splashed red paint on the gate and floor outside the house.
Following the report and further investigations, a police team from the Miri IPD CID successfully arrested all four suspects in four separate operations in the Kampung Pujut Tanjong Batu area on Oct 23 and 26.
He added that interrogations revealed that all four suspects were believed to be involved in the incidents, enabling police to solve two cases of red-paint vandalism reported on Oct 20 and 22 respectively.
“Police also seized several mobile phones, clothing, and slippers belonging to the suspects, which were believed to have been worn during the incidents, as well as two motorcycles and two helmets believed to have been used in carrying out the acts,” he said.
Both cases are being investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of between one and five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
In this regard, Mohd Farhan advised the public not to entertain suspicious threats or demands relating to online moneylending, but instead to lodge a police report immediately if they become victims or have information about such activities. — DayakDaily
