A Facebook user, Les Lynn Lim, shared a few video clips online on 1 April alleging that Singaporeans were being robbed in Johor Bahru by motorcycle gangs.
The Johor Police have since come out and refuted the claims on 3 April, saying that the incidents were fake and that the videos were old clips from 2014.
They then warned against the spreading of false information and urged the public to be careful of fake news.
In Lim’s Facebook post, she captioned it:
“Footage of Motorists gang in JB robbing Sporean motorists & cars. Those driving in pls b v v safe. (Funny thing is the jam motorcycle lane cleared within an hour)”
One of the videos showed a motorcyclist who was alone being surrounded by about a dozen other riders and forced to get down from his bike, and he was then seen surrendering some items to them before they fled.
Johor police chief, Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat emphasized that the videos and photos were fake, and he added:
“The act of spreading and making false speculation is illegal and action can be taken under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1988.”