KUALA LUMPUR: Police here have denied that there was any abuse of authority in an incident where a man was questioned at a food stall in Cheras here.

       Cheras OCPD Asst Comm Muhammad Idzam Jaafar said police detected a Twitter post that claimed their personnel had misused their authority in detaining a man at a food stall on Saturday (May 21).

       "The personnel on patrol suspected the man had bought an illegal lottery number via WhatsApp. They wanted to check his mobile phone but he refused to cooperate.

       "The man then left and went to a relative's house," he said in a statement on Monday (May 23).

       The personnel then sought the Cheras station chief's help in tracking down the man, he added.

       "The officer went to the house and explained that he wanted to bring the man to the police station for further investigation.

       "Checks revealed that the WhatsApp application on the man's phone had been uninstalled," he said.

       The man was released after the documentation process and a report on the incident was lodged, he added.

       ACP Muhammad Idzam advised the public not to speculate or make assumptions that could cause confusion or disrupt public order.

       "We urge those with information on the incident to contact the Cheras police hotline at 03-92845050/5051, the KL police hotline at 03-21159999, or go to the nearest police station," he said.