KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — Crackhouse Comedy Club co-owner Rizal van Geyzel has today lodged a police report over death threats against his family, in response to recent episodes involving stand-up comedy routines in the venue.
According to The Vibes, Rizal said his wife received death threats through her mobile number at around 4.30am today.
“I’ve received lots of threats before this — name calling, swear words, verbal abuse etc — to the point I had to change my mobile number, but this is the first time this is directed at my family.
“One death threat was made previously but we didn’t make a police report as the issue was still ongoing,” Rizal was reported saying.
Rizal was also reported saying that he believes “this is just the start” of more intimidation directed toward his family.
Rizal lodged the report at Taman Tun Dr Ismail police station around 5pm in a bid for the police to ensure the safety of his family.
His comedy club, also located in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, was splattered with red and black paint earlier today.
On July 14, Rizal was arrested for questioning at the Dang Wang district police headquarters over old comedy skits that were reported to authorities as being an insult to Islam and offensive to the Malay community.
Since the videos resurfaced and went viral, Rizal has had a slew of police reports lodged against him.
It was previously reported that an Islamist group had filed police reports against Rizal in Johor Baru and Shah Alam.
The Vibes also reported that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s non-Malay wing’s information chief S. Gobi Krishnan had also lodged a reporter against Rizal, purportedly for speaking in Tamil to allegedly insult Malays.
Malay-Muslim and Islamist groups such as the vigilante Semboyan Malaysia Consumers Association had also threatened to protest in front of the club’s premises if authorities do not permanently shut down the comedy business.
The comedy club has been making headlines since a video of a woman Siti Nuramira Abdullah performing at the club deemed insulting to Islam went viral.
Nuramira has since been charged with inciting religious hatred under Section 298A(1)(a) of the Penal Code and is currently out on bail, but will face a separate charge in the Shariah Court tomorrow.
Her boyfriend, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, was charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 with “improper use of network facilities or network services”.
The club has been temporarily suspended by order of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) saying that the club had been operating with an improper permit.
