Fire dept D-G condemns staged disappearance: 'We don't joke about lives'

New Straits Times

5 days ago

PETALING JAYA: "What angered us most is how the image of our rescue personnel was mocked and ridiculed, when in fact, we take matters involving lives very seriously."
Those were the words of Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad in response to the actions of a social media influencer who fled to Thailand after staging a fake disappearance at Sungai Tui, Bukit Kepong, Muar, as reported in Kosmo!.
Following the incident, Nor Hisham said the department lodged a police report at the Muar District Police Headquarters at 11.30am two days ago over the false report filed by the man, Tengku Nizaruddin Tengku Zainudin, 38.
Nor Hisham said the report was made to ensure appropriate action is taken against the individual for tarnishing the image of the rescue team.
"We strongly condemn the individual's highly irresponsible behaviour. His actions are utterly disgraceful.
"They also resulted in substantial losses and endangered the lives of our divers," he said when contacted by Kosmo! yesterday.
Nor Hisham added that the hoax created a gap in services, as the team was unable to respond to other real emergencies.
"For instance, during the incident, we couldn't attend to another case because all personnel were fully mobilised, camping out for days to rescue someone who was never actually missing.
"His actions caused major losses to the department through wasted resources and time — such as the added cost of deploying divers throughout the search and rescue (SAR) operation," he said.
Nor Hisham added that every individual must act responsibly and consider the consequences of their actions.
On July 19, it was reported that the motoring influencer who was reported missing after his car was found submerged in Bukit Kepong on July 14 is alive and has allegedly fled to a neighbouring country, police said.
Police believe the disappearance was staged, with the man allegedly conspiring with his 30-year-old brother to fabricate the incident.
Fire and Rescue Department had spent four days tirelessly searching for him after reports claimed he had gone missing in Sungai Tui, Bukit Kepong, Muar, last Tuesday.
"Our reason for lodging the police report was to prevent this from becoming a trend, where others may follow suit by making false emergency calls.
"Therefore, we took the initiative to urge the police to investigate the individual," he said.
Johor Zone 4 Fire and Rescue chief Senior Fire Superintendent II Norshuhada Amsari said she lodged the police repor t on the instruction of Nor Hisham.
The staged disappearance involved sinking his wife's Perodua Axia into Sungai Tui, Bukit Kepong, to make it appear as though he had drowned.
The elaborate act triggered a massive SAR operation involving 77 officers and personnel from various agencies, including divers and sniffer dog units, before being called off last Friday.
The hoax was uncovered when his 30-year-old younger sibling finally spoke up during police questioning.
Tengku Nizaruddin eventually turned himself in at Muar Police Station last Saturday, where both he and his brother gave their statements to the police.