A group of 13 men were detained and fined a total of RM26,000 for having a birthday bash during the COVID-19 lockdown.

To avoid detection, the men, some of whom police say are gang members, celebrated the event inside a furniture shop owned by one of them, at Taman Merdeka Jaya in Batu Berendam, Melaka.

State CID chief ACP Mohd Sukri Kaman said the arrests of the men, aged between 20 and 50, were made based on a report lodged over an almost four-minute video of the celebrations, which reportedly took place between 4.30pm and 11.30pm last Monday.

In the clip, the men can be seen enjoying alcohol beverages, while not adhering to any standard operating procedures (SOPs), such as wearing face masks or practising physical distancing. Two of the men can also be seen displaying gang-related signs with their hands during the cake cutting ceremony.

Following their arrests, the men were fined RM2,000 each for SOPs violation. Besides, two of the men are also under probe for gang affiliation.

This is not the first time people have gotten into trouble for sharing videos of them having event celebrations, in violation of SOPs.

In June, Kedah police arrested 11 alleged gang members, including two women, after they were seen gathering in a house to celebrate Father's Day for one of them.

Aside from recording and publishing the event on TikTok, the gang also got into trouble with the police after the man was seen cutting a cake in the form of number 35, which relates to Gang 35 - a notorious triad involved in drug trafficking, criminal intimidation, robbery and other cases in the Sungai Petani area.


Source: Sinar Harian
Photo source: Utusan Malaysia