Murad Zaidi seeks clarity over the person behind an Instagram account that allegedly issued death threats against Caprice after police classified action against him as NFA.
KUALA LUMPUR: High-performance transformation coach Syed Mohammad Murad Syed Naseem, better known as Coach Murad or Murad Zaidi, is seeking clarity over the identity of the person behind an Instagram account that allegedly posted death threats and references to bullets against social media influencer Caprice and members of his family.
His lawyer, Aizzat Mustafa, said Murad Zaidi had initially been investigated in connection with the account, identified as “jefri_yayan”, but was subsequently informed by police that further action against him had been classified as No Further Action (NFA).
“On July 11 last year, Murad Zaidi was arrested in connection with the investigation. His mobile phone was seized, his residence was searched and several individuals connected to him were also called in to assist in the investigation.
“On Nov 26 last year, police informed Murad Zaidi in writing that the matter against him had been classified as NFA, following which his mobile phone was returned.
“My client has consistently denied being behind the account and cooperated fully with the police investigation,” he said.
Aizzat said PDRM had since confirmed in writing, in a response dated Sept 18 this year, that the underlying case remained open and under investigation.
He said the latest position raised two important questions — who was actually behind the “jefri_yayan” account, and why the issue remained unresolved more than a year after the alleged threats were first reported.
“The alleged threats were treated with considerable seriousness and urgency from the outset. Within days, Coach Murad was arrested, his telephone was seized, his residence was searched and persons connected to him were called in for investigation.
“More than a year has now passed. PDRM has confirmed that further action against Coach Murad was classified as NFA, yet the underlying case remains under investigation.
“In those circumstances, my client is entitled to ask what progress has been made in identifying the actual person behind the account and why the investigation has taken this length of time to reach a conclusion,” he said.
Aizzat stressed that Murad Zaidi was not alleging that police had abandoned the investigation.
“PDRM has expressly confirmed that the matter remains under investigation. What Coach Murad is seeking is clarity as to the progress of that investigation and, ultimately, the identity of the person responsible for the account and the alleged threats.”
He said there was also a legitimate question regarding Caprice’s present position.
“We would like Caprice’s current position to be established, including whether he still maintains that Coach Murad was behind the account and whether he has received any subsequent information from PDRM concerning the identity of the actual operator.
“The allegations had serious consequences for my client and affected his reputation. Now that further action against him has been classified as NFA, he wants the public record to accurately reflect that position,” he said.
The matter dates back to July 7 last year, when the “jefri_yayan” Instagram account allegedly posted comments containing threats, including references to death and bullets, concerning Caprice and members of his family.
Aizzat said Coach Murad had denied being behind the account from the outset and had himself lodged police reports in relation to the matter.
“My client is not seeking confidential information which may prejudice an ongoing investigation.
“He simply wants an investigation which began with considerable urgency more than a year ago to reach a proper conclusion, and for the actual person responsible for the alleged threats to be identified.
“If Coach Murad was not the person against whom further action was ultimately taken, the obvious question remains — who was actually behind ‘jefri_yayan’?” he said.
Aizzat added that Murad Zaidi hoped the investigation would be concluded without further unnecessary delay so that the matter could finally be clarified for all parties concerned.
