In the police report, Sepanggar Youth chief Norazmi Alimat said a Facebook post on Saturday by a user named Hafizi Harris had falsely claimed that Shafie and vice-president Peter Anthony were arrested by the MACC.
The post allegedly shared an entry on www.masterdedah.com, also dated Saturday, which showed images apparently edited to show the duo dressed in the orange T-shirts usually worn by MACC suspects during court proceedings.
City police chief ACP Chandra Muthu, when contacted, said investigations had been commenced under Section 500 of the Penal Code for libel and under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of network facilities or services.
Chandra said police are in the process of identifying the owners of the Facebook and website accounts through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
In a media release issued yesterday, Warisan said Shafie had been attending a meet-the-people programme in Sipitang on the day in question, and that the article and pictures had tarnished the image of the party and its leadership.
A check during the time this article was written revealed that the allegedly defamatory posts and pictures were still on the Facebook account and website.