Police deny beating traffic offender in Op Samseng

IPOH - The police have denied that there was any beating or fighting involving a man who was arrested for a traffic offence during Op Samseng in Jalan Jelapang on Sunday.

Ipoh District Police Chief Commissioner Assistant Yahaya Hassan said allegations that went viral on social media were not true and were deliberately sensationalised to give a bad image to police officers on duty.

He said the 23-year-old man involved was arrested after checks found that he had been riding a motorcycle without a licence.

"The man informed his family of his arrest, and his father had come to the location and showed his dissatisfaction with the actions of the police.

"However, the situation was brought under control, and the man's father apologised before giving a police warning," he said in a statement to reporters on Sunday.

Yahaya said the police had issued five summonses against the man involved, which include the offences of having no motorcycle registration number, no side mirror, having a modified exhaust, and having incompletely acquired accessories.

He said that in this regard, parents should always monitor the movements of their children so that they do not get involved in activities that threaten the safety of other road users.

Vehicle owners are also reminded not to allow others to use vehicles without a licence; this is also an offence punishable under the Road Transport Act," he said.

The 1-minute, 22-second video that went viral on TikTok shows people crowding the location of a gangster operation inspection.

The comments in the video claimed that the police had beaten the arrested traffic offender, causing the father of the offender to become angry and dissatisfied.

Meanwhile, he said, in the operation from 3 am to 6 am, a total of 30 traffic summonses were issued as a result of inspections on 27 motorcycles and 32 individuals.

He said a motorcycle was confiscated, and a 19-year-old Thai national was arrested for riding a motorcycle recklessly.

"The same operation will continue to be intensified to strengthen enforcement actions against street thugs in this district in an effort to reduce road accident cases," he said.