JOHOR BAHRU: Police are tracking down 20 individuals believed to be members of a secret society who rioted during a wake at a non-Muslim funeral home in the city on Tuesday (March 21).

Johor police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said a day before the incident, a man in his 30s with several criminal records was shot dead at Taman Melodies here.

"An investigation is underway to find out the motive of the murder. The next day (March 21), during the wake for the deceased, a group of 20 individuals came and caused a ruckus at the funeral home, so efforts to trace them are underway," he said at the Johor Police Contingent headquarters (IPK), here, today.

He said the case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder and Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting.

Asked if the killing was related to the murder case of a man at a petrol station in Taman Pelangi here in 2017, Kamarul Zaman said police are investigating the allegation.

On Dec 17, 2017, a man in his 30s was reportedly stabbed to death and hit by a car driven by four men at a petrol station in Taman Pelangi at 7.30 pm. A foreign woman, in her 20s and believed to be his wife, was with the victim at that time.

In a separate case, Kamarul Zaman said police and the Johor State Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ) are hunting for six members of the Suhaini Muhammad or Sihulk heretical group, aged in their 20s to 30s, after they allegedly insulted Islam and the Prophet Muhammad in a TikTok video recently.

"Regarding the viral video of heresy, the six individuals involved have been identified and action will be taken by the Bukit Aman Classified Crime Investigation Unit.

"My advice is they had better surrender to police instead of letting the police come to them," he said, adding that the faces of the perpetrators were clearly visible in the video.

On Tuesday (March 21), state Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid was reported to have said that JAINJ and police were tracking down members of the heretical Sihulk group.

-- BERNAMA