Police today issued a stern warning and will investigate a bomb hoax at the Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar) in Penang, seen as aiming to create tension.

Penang police chief Ayub Yaakob said police had received a call on a bomb threat at about 4pm at the complex, which houses several government departments and the Chief Minister’s Office.

However, instead of a bomb, police found three bags - blue, black and red - left in front of the lift on the third floor and in each bag was a piglet, an iguana and a black duck respectively which were still alive.

“This is a crazy and irresponsible act which can invite trouble and we will investigate. I'm warning that people should not be fooling around like this. This is too much,” he said when contacted in George Town.

Earlier, a few thousand people including workers at Komtar were ordered to vacate the building after police received the bomb threat.

    

A bomb disposal team and another team from the K9 Unit as well as several members of the Fire and Rescue Department rushed to Komtar to carry out inspection and to control the situation.

However, on opening the bags, the bomb disposal team found the three animals inside.

The case exhibits were brought to the state contingent police headquarters to facilitate the investigation and police are seeking the assistance of the security section of Komtar to view the CCTV recording at the complex.

The incident is believed to be the work of individuals who are dissatisfied with the state government’s leadership based on three name tags of government leaders which were tied to the bags.

- Bernama