MELAKA: Three people, including a married couple, became the first individuals in the country to be detained under the Offences Relating to the Awards Act 2017, after allegedly using fake 'Datuk' and 'Datin' titles as well as organising a dinner for the elite association and Gabungan Datuk-Datuk Malaysia (GDDM).

Melaka police chief Datuk Abdul Majid Mohd Ali said all of them were detained in Bangi, Selangor on Jan 30 to facilitate investigation under Section 12(2) of the act.

He said the couple, aged 43 and 49, was believed to be the founder and secretariat of the coalition while another suspect, a 57-year-old man, was the coalition publicist.

Abdul Majid said the dinner held at a hotel in Jalan Hang Tuah here in August last year was attended by about 120 people.

"Preliminary investigation found that the main suspect, who is a businessman, had led the coalition and the letters and titles they received were fake and believed to have been awarded by the so-called 'Soltan Keradjaan Indragiri', who is based in a neighbouring country," he told a press conference here today.

Abdul Majid said a check also revealed that the three suspects were not the recipients of the Darjah Kebesaran Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan (DKBPP) and Darjah Kebesaran Negeri (DKBPN).

"We have also confiscated items such as certificates, letters and the list of recipients of awards and medals," he said.

He added that the investigation was also carried out under Section 420 of the Penal Code after it was believed that there were guests using unrecognised Datuk title to commit fraud.

-- BERNAMA