JOHOR BARU, Sept 28 — A group of foreign workers found in an abandoned hotel building were not engaging in recreational activities as claimed on social media.

According to Buletin TV3, instead, they were draining the hotel’s swimming pool, which had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and larvae.

Johor Baru South police chief Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat clarified that the workers were performing maintenance tasks to address the mosquito infestation.

A team from the Sector Patrol Unit (URS) of the Central Police Station, along with the Criminal Investigation Division (D9) of the Johor Bahru Selatan District Police Headquarters, conducted an inspection at the site.

During the inspection, authorities found a 38-year-old local man, who was the employer, and 15 foreign male workers aged between 22 and 43. All workers were employed by a local construction company.

Further checks revealed that all the foreign workers had valid work permits and travel documents, and were not violating any laws. The workers were in the process of draining the pool due to the high presence of mosquitoes and larvae.

Earlier, a viral video showed several individuals, believed to be foreign workers, allegedly engaging in recreational activities at the abandoned building.

The video, uploaded by herrymersing78 on TikTok, depicted two men draining the pool while others watched from a distance.