Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has called on the public not to cast aspersions on a woman whom certain quarters claimed kissed him on the cheek during the Kembara Mahkota Johor 2017 tour.

The ruler made this call via a Facebook posting, which also featured a video of the incident.

Sultan Ibrahim said the video recording clearly showed that the woman, who is said to be suffering from mental illness, did not kiss him.

“She approached me to whisper something into my ear. However, I could not hear what she was saying because of the noise in the open area,” he was quoted as saying.

The Sun Daily reported that the woman was arrested by police for disrespecting the ruler in the Sept 11 incident at Ayer Hitam.

The report claimed that police personnel and the sultan's bodyguards attempted to pull the woman away from the ruler but she resisted.

Quoting sources, the daily claimed the woman suffered a minor cut to her lip during the struggle.

However, police managed to subdue and arrest the woman who screamed and caused a commotion.

No dangerous items were found on the 28-year-old woman, and she had no previous criminal record. It was learnt that she had been suffering from depression for more than a decade.

Meanwhile, Sultan Ibrahim said the woman did not do anything untoward or improper and urged the police to be tactful in handling the case.