JOHOR BAHRU: A 45-year-old Singaporean woman who claimed she was “nearly abducted and kidnapped” at a shopping mall in Johor Bahru was fined RM1,000 (US$228) on Tuesday (Jan 28) for filing a false police report.
Amyra Laila Ho pleaded guilty to a charge of providing false information to a police officer at Larkin police station at about 1.02am on Jan 22, The Star reported.
Ho, whose Instagram name is Venus Ho, was charged at the Magistrate Court under Section 182 of the Penal Code. The offence carries a sentence of up to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of up to RM2,000 if convicted.
Ho, who did not have a lawyer, has reportedly paid the fine imposed by magistrate Hidayatul Syuhada Shamsudin.
Failure to pay the fine would have resulted in a three-week jail term, news outlet New Straits Times reported.
Ho had told the police she was approached by a man and a woman at KSL City Mall in Taman Abad on Jan 10.
The couple was promoting tea in conjunction with Chinese New Year, Malay Mail reported.
“The woman alleged that she was forced by the couple to inhale the tea that they were promoting, causing her to feel dizzy and lose consciousness,” Johor police chief M Kumar told the media on Monday.
He confirmed that based on closed circuit television (CCTV) footage, the “attempted abduction did not occur”.
“No movement involving the victim was detected at the location,” Kumar was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.
Kumar said Ho’s claims had led some netizens to believe a kidnapping had actually occurred and link it to the issue of safety in Johor.
On Jan 14, Ho had posted a video about the alleged incident on her Instagram account, which has over 8,850 followers.
She alleged a man had tried to sell her tea, held her right arm and claimed he was her husband. Ho denied his assertion and alerted passersby at the mall.
She also claimed that the woman who was with him took her handbag containing RM400, local media reported.
Ho claimed the two individuals then pushed her before fleeing, causing her to injure her head and be hospitalised for three days, The Star reported.
In the video, which has been deleted, she alleged that her doctor had told her that she could have smelled something similar to an anaesthetic and that she was not the first to experience such an incident.
On Jan 26, Ho claimed she had misused the word “kidnap” in her video and said she had no intention of causing public panic, The Star reported. But she repeated claims of a group that apparently forced victims to inhale anaesthetic agents before robbing them.
Kumar assured on Monday that safety and security in Johor is under control. “The police are constantly monitoring the security aspects in the state,” he said, as quoted by Malay Mail.
He warned of strict action against individuals who spread rumours or distort facts to create public anxiety, especially regarding public safety, Free Malaysia Today reported.
