LRT Taman Jaya fire: Social media users slam 'rumourmongering' over incident

A fire incident at a parking lot near Taman Jaya LRT in Petaling Jaya sparked frenzy on social media after news broke today about a car was set ablaze and had damaged six other cars after the fire escalated.

READ: Car set ablaze, no bomb explosion, IGP clarifies

Early tweets contained unverified claims that the LRT station was on fire.

LRT Taman Jaya pic.twitter.com/ojT5q8SkxC
— beruangberang (@hazmiehadriZA) December 21, 2015

Lrt Taman Jaya terbakar pic.twitter.com/pZ62dycO5v
— (@azriatuf) December 21, 2015

LRT Taman Jaya terbakar !
— Muhamad Zulfadhli (@zulpaliee) December 21, 2015

Other tweets claimed the fire was caused by a bomb explosion.

BREAKING! Ada letupan bom dekat dgan area lrt PJ scaryy pic.twitter.com/40off3NugT
— Sampah Remaja KL (@SampahRemajaKL) December 21, 2015

Bom meletup kat lrt taman jaya..takot pulak nk balik naik lrt :'(
— KIM (@wawabumblebee) December 21, 2015

The widespread rumour triggered questions among Netizens over the validity of the news.

Saw this on FB. Anyone can confirm of the bomb explosion at taman jaya lrt? Be safe guys pic.twitter.com/UhIGaJHdXl
— Nazrain (@NazrainTajudin) December 21, 2015

so the bomb incident at taman jaya is real?
— (@ren_kaos) December 21, 2015

LRT Taman Jaya kena bom. betul ker? anyone.
— Sean Pablo (@skatesukasuki) December 21, 2015

Following the incident, the Inspector-general of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar tweeted citing that there was no bomb explosion involved.

Someone set a car ablaze at parking of Lrt Taman Jaya, Pj. There was no bomb explosion. @PDRMsia is investigating a case of mischief by fire
— Khalid Abu Bakar (@KBAB51) December 21, 2015

Meanwhile, RapidKL on its official Twitter account stated that the Taman Jaya LRT remains unaffected.

Dear all, we wish to inform that the Taman Jaya LRT Stn is not affected. Fire happened at a nearby carpark. Bomba at site.
— RapidKL 03-78852585 (@MyRapidKL) December 21, 2015

[Media Release] Taman Jaya LRT Station Not Affected By Fire. More info : https://t.co/tJGMdOzCzw pic.twitter.com/qnKbF9DmUv
— RapidKL 03-78852585 (@MyRapidKL) December 21, 2015

Responsible social media users took matters in their own hands in spreading the verified news along with a reminder for irresponsible rumormongers to stop tweeting unverified facts.

4 cars just caught on fire under Taman Jaya LRT station ... pic.twitter.com/gwoooZM6U0
— ë (@gkzoe) December 21, 2015

Please, stop trusting news on WNN (Whatsapp News Network) people. A car caught fire at Taman Jaya LRT, there was no bomb.
— Harvind G. (@HarvindG) December 21, 2015

kereta terbakar je.. bukan bom pun kat LRT Taman Jaya tuharap don't panic
— Wantakumi (@TakumiRedzuan) December 21, 2015

These are times of hysteria. Don't jump into conclusions. Blast may not have been due to a bomb. Many possibilities. https://t.co/F6iQHB4Mp9
— Faizal Hamssin (@faizalhamssin) December 21, 2015