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An almost two-minute video of the incident went viral on Saturday, 22 January.
The footage purportedly shows four men — two in dark-coloured shirts and two in red and yellow vests — taking away a homeless man’s belongings in front of Lot 10 Kuala Lumpur.
About a minute into the video, the homeless man tried to save something from among his possessions but was grabbed and kicked by a man in a long-sleeved shirt until he was bent over in pain.
The assault has drawn widespread criticism from netizens on social media. Many also questioned who were the parties responsible for confiscating the homeless man’s belongings.
“Dang Wangi’s Criminal Investigation Department started searching for the suspect the moment the video came to light,” he said on Saturday, as quoted by Sinar Harian.
“The police are asking any individuals with information regarding the incident to come forward to aid in the investigation,” he added.
The case is being investigated under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt.
“If anyone has information regarding the crime, they can call the Dang Wangi police headquarters at +603-26002222 or the Kuala Lumpur police hotline at +603-21159999.”
After the video went viral, the welfare department said they took to the streets to look for the senior citizen on the same day. However, they could not locate the man.
“We are asking anyone who has seen the senior citizen to inform us by calling Talian Kasih at 15999 to save the man under the Destitute Persons Act 1977 (Act 183),” they tweeted.