Penang cops nab three mule account holders

BALIK PULAU: Police arrested two women and a man, believed to be mule account holders on suspicion of being involved in fraudulent online part-time job offerings and non-existent online investment syndicates.

In a statement today, Barat Daya district police headquarters said the suspects, aged 26 to 48, were detained separately in Kedah, and Penang, two days ago.

"Based on the investigation, the victims suffered losses between RM13,200 and RM61,946 in cases reported this year," it said.

The suspects have been remanded for four days to assist in the investigation and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

"The police are urging the public to be more vigilant and avoid falling victim to online scams such as non-existent loans, non-existent investments, overseas or part-time job offers, Macau scams and parcel scams, all of which are carried out through social media," the statement said.

In a separate matter, the Penang police chief has denied that a viral video showing a group of men riding horses while carrying party flags and calligraphic characters with the element of 'syahadah (affirmation of faith in Islam) was linked to extremist or terrorist movements.

He said police detected a 20-second video uploaded on several social media sites and found that the incident took place in Kubang Semang, Bukit Mertajam near here, where the video is believed to have been taken on Nov 19.

"Our investigations also revealed that the flag was a political party flag and a syahadah flag which has nothing to do with extremist or terrorist movements. Hence, the police request the public to immediately stop speculation that could create unrest," he said in a statement posted on the Penang Royal Malaysia Police Facebook page today.

According to him, investigations may be conducted under Section 504 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 related to this case.

Earlier, the video clip went viral on TikTok and Twitter, which claimed a group of men on horses were preparing for jihad (holy war) by carrying flags of political parties and a white flag that is said to contain Taliban elements.

-- BERNAMA