Cops deny claims on empty syringe incident at BACC PPV

KUALA LUMPUR: The police have denied the claims that a man was injected with an empty syringe at the Bangi Avenue Convention Centre (BACC) vaccination centre (PPV) here on Saturday.

Kajang district police chief Mohd Zaid Hassan said the allegation was due to a misunderstanding, and the individual had received the Sinovac vaccine.

He said investigations found that the staff of the vaccination centre had contacted the man and explained the procedure of vaccination to him and the individual was satisfied with the information.

"Police did not receive any report from the man or any related individuals on the claims of being almost duped when receiving the vaccine at the PPV," he said in a statement today.

According to Mohd Zaid, the BACC official only lodged a police report on July 19 to deny such an incident had occurred.

He said the case is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Mohd Zaid said the investigation revealed that the tweet was made by the recipient's girlfriend which went viral and received negative responses from netizens.

He also advised the public to be cautious when making statements or creating posts that have not been verified, especially those involving the vaccination programme.

In a separate incident, Sentul district police chief ACP Beh Eng Lai said police have recorded statements from health personnel and other witnesses on allegations of being injected with empty syringes at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) vaccination centre here on July 17."We have received a report and the personnel or individuals involved will be called to assist in the investigation," he said when contacted here today.

Yesterday, the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) in a statement said it was investigating several allegations of empty syringes being administered at COVID-19 vaccination centres in Kedah, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor which went viral recently.

-- BERNAMA