MERSING: A 32-year-old tourist from the Czech Republic has been arrested by police for spray-painting graffiti on building walls in the town last week.
Mersing deputy police chief Deputy Superintendent Sharif Shai Sharif Mondoi said authorities received a report about the unauthorised graffiti at 1.56pm last Sunday.
He said police tracked down the male suspect using footage from several closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
“A team from the district Criminal Investigation Division (CID) arrested the foreigner at 3.15pm on the same day.
“Checks revealed that the suspect is a Czech national who came to Mersing as a tourist. He is of sound mind and not involved in drug abuse,” he said in a statement today.
Following the arrest, Sharif Shai said the Kota Tinggi Magistrate’s Court granted police a four-day remand order to facilitate investigations.
The case is being investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code for mischief and causing damage to property.
On Monday, the official Mersing District Council Facebook page, My Mersing, highlighted the spray-painted graffiti on buildings and walls around the town.
A post on the page stated that the intention of the individual who painted the graffiti in several areas of Mersing town was unclear.
The post criticised the graffiti, describing it as an act of vandalism that had damaged public property in Mersing.
Mersing, a coastal district on Johor’s eastern coast, is a popular tourist destination known for island-hopping and diving activities.
