Sabah police are trying to get to the bottom of a prank involving a claim that a young girl had been found abused and raped at the Likas Bay area near here.
The WhatsApp message that went viral on Monday included a photograph of the alleged victim.
However, police found that the girl in the photo was actually a nine-year-old who was reported to have been raped and found dead in Jakarta.
OCPD, ACP M. Chandra said police would not hesitate to take action against those spreading false news.
He said Kota Kinabalu police had checked and verified that there had been no such incident here.
Pranks involving the spreading of false news would only cause undue public anxiety, he said.
Source: The Star