Sixty-two Burmese men were arrested yesterday after a video of crowds partying outside a Malaysian hostel during the Thingyan weekend surfaced online.
Police arrested them during a raid of a factory worker hostel in Sepang, a district south of Kuala Lumpur, at 2pm yesterday, according to the Bernama news agency. The celebrations allegedly took place Sunday, as Malaysia extended its lockdown a third time to slow the spread of COVID-19. Large gatherings have been banned.
“Some admitted to attending the event and more arrests are being carried out to track the other suspects involved. Two mobile phones used by the suspects have also been seized,” Police Chief Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof was quoted as saying.
Two suspects admitted to recording the event and posting the videos online, according to the report.
One of the videos, posted to the Paradise Generation Facebook page, showed the crowd dancing in the road, splashing water and blasting loud music in the background. The clip was apparently captured at around 9:30pm, according to the caption, written in Malay.
The video drew backlash from mainly xenophobic netizens.
“I only ask for one thing, send them back to their country, revoke the hostel’s and factory’s licenses,” Facebook user Apit Syafiq wrote in the comments.
“If they end up testing positive for COVID-19, we don’t need to treat them because they will tire our doctors and nurses and waste taxpayer money. Take them back to Myanmar on a lorry,” Irdawati Azhar chimed in.
Malaysia’s Movement Control Order has been extended to April 28. Those who violate the order by participating in large gatherings, going out with a companion or traveling beyond a 10-kilometer radius from their homes, among other rules, face RM1,000 fines (US$231).
The Burmese New Year festival, or Thingyan, is held April 13 to 16. In Thailand it is called Songkran, and the government there went to the extraordinary step of banning alcohol sales all week or longer in every province. A group of Thai revelers was arrested Sunday for live streaming their drunken party.
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