Kota Kinabalu: Police arrested a man who failed to produce any valid identification documents during a crime-prevention operation at One Borneo Mall along Jalan Sulaman on Sunday.
The arrest was made at about 3pm by a taskforce from the Kota Kinabalu District Police Headquarters (IPD) while carrying out Ops Cegah Jenayah in the area following a rise in theft cases.
Acting Kota Kinabalu police chief Supt Syed Lot Syed Ab Rahman said officers detained the man after he was found behaving suspiciously during the operation.
“During the inspection, the man failed to produce any identification document or valid travel document to be in Malaysia,” he said in a statement.
He said the suspect was subsequently detained for further action and the case is being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for being in the country without valid travel documents.
A video recording related to the arrest, claiming the suspect is a 17-year-old stateless student from an “alternative school” has since gone viral on Facebook, prompting public attention to the incident.
Syed Lot said further investigations are ongoing, including verification with the Immigration Department regarding the suspect’s citizenship status.
He added that the Kota Kinabalu police will continue intensifying crime-prevention operations at public hotspots to ensure the safety and security of the community.
