JOHOR BAHRU, July 20 — Police arrested 12 men, including a 15-year-old, for allegedly being involved in a World Cup-related fracas at a 24-hour restaurant in Taman Daya here early this morning.
Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said authorities received information regarding the incident at 5.40am.
He said police also detected a viral video clip of the alleged incident that was uploaded on a Facebook group.
“Quick action by the police saw the suspects being identified and tracked down in the Taman Setia Indah area shortly after the incident was reported.
“All the suspects were successfully arrested in a special operation between 10am and 11am this morning by a joint state and district Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team,” he said in a statement today.
Ab Rahaman was responding to a two-minute and 37-second video that went viral of a gang fight that broke out at a popular 24-hour restaurant during the live screening of the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina this morning.
On the arrests, Ab Rahaman said three of the suspects had records for previous criminal cases.
He said the suspects will be brought to the Magistrates’ Court here tomorrow where investigators will apply for a remand application under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) for further investigation.
“The case is classified under Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting with weapons, which provides for imprisonment of up to five years or a fine or both upon conviction,” he said, adding that investigators have yet to determine the motive that triggered the incident.
Police urged the public to refrain from speculation or spread unverified or fake news regarding the case that could affect ongoing investigations.
