Cops tracking down ‘kidnap’ SMS source
KENINGAU:
Police are tracking down the source of a short messaging service (SMS) on another ‘kidnapping’ case, which proved to be untrue. “This is the work of an irresponsible person. This is not a laughing matter ... no one should make fun of it,” said District Police Chief, DSP Zahari Mohamed, when contacted by The Borneo Post, yesterday. SMSes urging people to be on a lookout for a car bearing plate number SA6385F which had allegedly kidnapped a 16-year-old girl from Taman Adika here on Sunday, circulated widely yesterday. “After receiving the information, we have mobilised our people to carry out investigations and at last, the report was found to be untrue and the plate number does not exist. “We fear that such an irresponsible act would cause fear among parents they would not even dare to send their children to school,” he said. In addition, Zahari said soon it would be a case like the boy who cried wolf. “There will be a time when there is a real kidnapping but people would no longer believe and no one would pay any attention to the real distress call. “So please stop this nonsense as it will not bring any good to anyone. It is a waste of everybody’s time ... we were chasing nothing,” he said. He warned those caught responsible for spreading the rumour can be charged under Section 233 of the Multimedia Act which carries a fine of RM50,000 or not more than a year’s imprisonment, or both, if found guilty. Last Wednesday, a real abduction case involving a Universiti Malaysia Sabah student at Kingfisher Park in Kota Kinabalu came to an end When the two abductors were finally arrested here separately just within 48 hours after committing the crime. Information on the incident as well as the abductors’ car number were quickly spread via SMSes and blogs, which kept people on the alert for the vehicle passing through their areas. Those who spotted the car had alerted the Police and soon after a high speed chase, they skidded at Kampung Rompon, along Tambunan-Keningau Road.
