KUALA LUMPUR: Police denied that they were collecting public contributions to prepare daily food for residents in the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) area at Section 4 Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, here.

Petaling Jaya district police chief ACP Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid said they received a message via WhatsApp application today on collecting donations to prepare daily food for people in Gugusan Semarak which is the EMCO area.

He said the message stated that the Kota Damansara police had been requested to provide daily food for 10 days in the area and the message also stated that donations could be made into a Maybank account number 5648 0165 7304 on behalf of Bekind Malaysia.

"Police denied the viral message because no assistance was required from any party for the EMCO to be carried out," he said in a statement today.

Mohamad Fakhrudin said his team suspected that there were individuals or associations who took advantage by trying to collect donations for personal gains.

He said any individual who had made a payment to the specified bank account was asked to come forward to lodge a police report to assist in the investigation.

"The people are advised not to be easily deceived by any posting or viral message involving the name of the Royal Malaysia Police. The community is also advised to check with the police first as prevention before becoming a victim of fraud," he said.

-- BERNAMA