Man held over aggressive no-mask rant

KUALA LUMPUR: A 33-year-old fitness centre operator who was caught on video threatening to assault a man at a nasi lemak stall in Taman Desa has been arrested by police.

Brickfields deputy police chief Supt Basri Sagoni said yesterday the suspect was arrested at his house at 8pm on Monday and remanded for two days for investigations.

Basri said the case is being investigated for criminal intimidation under Section 506 of the Penal Code and for failing to wear a face mask.

The suspect, who was not wearing a mask, had gone to a nasi lemak stall run by a woman and her daughter in Jalan Desa Bakti not far from his house at about 10.30pm on Monday.

The suspect became infuriated and reacted aggressively when the stall owner and a customer advised him to use a face mask.

He confronted the customer, shouting profanities and making threats as the stall owner’s 22-year-old daughter tried to calm the escalating situation.

Fearing for her mother’s and her safety, she lodged a police report several hours after the incident, which was caught on a video taken by a female bystander that was widely shared on social media, drawing ire from netizens.

Another video of a separate incident showing the man berating two women with profanities also surfaced yesterday.

It is unknown when and where the case occurred but it appears to be in a fitness centre and is believed to have been taken by one of the women the man told off.