Mechanic detained over Facebook posting on woman raped, murdered in Miri

Police have arrested a 23-year old car mechanic in connection with a Facebook posting on a woman alleged to have been raped and murdered here.

Miri Police Chief ACP Khoo Leng Huat said the suspect from Long Atap, Akah, in Ulu Baram, was arrested at 11.30 pm yesterday following a police report that was lodged after the posting went viral on the social media.

He said police seized a handphone belonging to the suspect.

"Police have conducted investigation and found that the posting was not true," he said in a statement here today.

He said the suspect would be investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for false posting on the social media.

Khoo said the Facebook posting had created anxiety and panic among the public the city.

He said a Facebook account using the name 'Ody Chica Rito' had uploaded a picture of a woman in the nude lying on the road on the Miri Community II and Miri City Community Facebook pages yesterday, causing the image to become viral on the social media.

The account owner claimed that the woman was raped, murdered and dumped near a fast food restaurant in Miri city.

-- BERNAMA