KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 19 reports on hoax bomb threats via email to several private and public schools were received by the police yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said.
In a press release issued at 6.20 pm, Razarudin said seven reports were filed in Selangor, five in Kuala Lumpur, three in Johor, two in Penang, and one each in Perak and Negeri Sembilan.
He said the threats were sent through two email accounts using the name ‘taktstorer,’ which translates to ‘disturber of peace’ in German, from the email service provider beeble.com.
“As soon as the threats were reported, the police, in cooperation with the schools involved, evacuated the premises and relocated students to a safe location with the assistance of the Fire and Rescue Department before being allowed to return,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Razarudin said security clearance procedures were carried out, revealing that the threats were false, with no evidence of a bomb risk in any school as claimed.
“The investigation also found that the email address in question was newly created, and the original content of the email was in English, which was translated into Malay using a translation application,” he said.
Razarudin said the same email content was detected to have been sent to 70 schools in Jamaica on Nov 12 by an individual with mental health issues.
The police are currently investigating whether there is any connection between that incident and the events yesterday, he added.
“The case is being investigated under Section 507 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. The police take bomb threats seriously and investigate any threats without fail,” he said.
Also, the management of an international school in Ipoh, Perak received an anonymous email about a bomb threat in the school building, Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said in a statement.
He added that the police took immediate action after learning about the threat from a school official at around 10.10 am and conducted a thorough inspection of the school building with the help of the Perak police contingent headquarters bomb disposal unit.
“The checks revealed no suspicious objects and after the situation was confirmed safe, all school staff and students were allowed back into the building at around 1.15 pm,” he said.
Mohd Yusri said the case is being investigated under Section 507 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. The Johor police received three police reports about bomb threats made via email against five private schools in the state yesterday.
Johor police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the reports covered Masai and Permas Jaya, Johor Bahru; Gelang Patah in Iskandar Puteri; as well as Kulai and Muar districts, and were received from 11 am to 6.18 pm yesterday.
Teams from the bomb disposal unit, district special branch unit, school liaison officers and K-9 tracker dogs were mobilised to conduct further investigations, he said.
“Checks did not reveal any suspicious objects and the areas were determined to be safe.
“The police are still at the locations to conduct further observation,” he said in a statement.
Kamarul Zaman also advised the public to remain calm and not entertain any speculation that could cause concern or affect public order. – BERNAMA
