Car Accessory Shop Owner Detained For Modding Nissan Skyline R32 To Resemble Police Vehicle
You’ve heard of identity theft, but what do you call this?
Yesterday (July 3), a man who participated in an automobile exhibition at the Malaysia Agricultural Expo Park (Maeps) was arrested by the police for modifying his car to resemble a police patrol vehicle.
According to Sepang District Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof, the 45-year-old man who traded in vehicle accessories at the event was arrested at 10.30pm after a video of his car went viral on TikTok.
The suspect has been identified as the owner of a car accessory shop.
Wan Kamarul explained that the arrest was made by the Criminal Investigation Division team of the Sepang Police Headquarters (IPD) after conducting observations at the exhibition centre.
It has been confirmed that the vehicle is a Nissan Skyline R32 adorned with a logo and sticker patterns resembling a police car. The result was a close replica to actual police automobiles, only missing the classic beacon lights.
The car was publicly showcased at the two-day 2022 Art of Speed custom autoshow held in Serdang.
The vehicle in question has a complete road tax and is used by its owner.
The Bukit Aman Public Relations Unit has clarified that its officers had become aware of the situation via the 13-second viral clip, which portrayed the car being unloaded from a large transporter at the autoshow.
The video has now been taken down and the uploader has switched to a private account.
According to Wan Kamarul, the suspect’s “police patrol car” was also confiscated and the man was released on police bail shortly after his statement was taken.
He added that the case is currently being probed for ownership of police equipment and unauthorised use of police uniform, in violation of Section 89 of the Police Act 1967.
While some netizens saw the issue at hand in a lighthearted manner, others noted that police hardware were not meant to be replicated or mocked as doing so could create confusion and lead to dangerous circumstances.
Others feared that having such clips garner mass views and attention might encourage people to do the same.