Police are tracking down the owner of a Facebook account which uses the name "Balan Pillai" for allegedly posting statements which insult Prophet Muhammad and Islam.

Ipoh District police chief Mohd Ali Tamby said the investigations were conducted after a 35-year-old man lodged a report on the matter at the Jelapang Police Station yesterday.

“The complainant is a teacher who saw a screenshot posting on Facebook shared by a person known as Farid Maria about a statement made by Balan Pillai which insulted Prophet Muhammad and Islam.

“The complainant lodged the police report as he felt the statement could cause religious tensions and social disharmony aimed at instigating hatred towards Muslims,” he said in a statement in Ipoh today.

Ali said the complainant lodged the police report so that police could conduct an investigation and take action against the suspect in order to safeguard stability and harmony among the people of various races and religions in the country.

He said the complainant tried to view the status on the suspect’s Facebook account but it had been deleted, although the status had been shared about 2,300 times by other Facebook users.

He added that the case would be investigated under Section 298 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

- Bernama