The 56-second video, posted by @budakpenang7 on social media platform TikTok, shows a group of men carrying a coffin in the middle of the road while playing the drums and holding up banners of the dead man.

Seberang Perai Utara district police chief Noorzainy Mohd Noor said 11 men, aged 15 to 35, have been arrested so far.

He added that they were detained at several locations around Butterworth and Mak Mandin between 6pm and 10pm yesterday evening.

“Apart from the 11 men, including the teenager, we are still tracking down several other individuals (men) believed to be involved in the incident when accompanying the casket on Thursday.

“So far, we have recorded the statement by the manager of the funeral services company and, according to him, he had prohibited the group from removing the casket from the vehicle before marching to the crematorium but they were still stubborn (and went ahead with it),” Noorzainy told Bernama last night.

He said early investigations found that the funeral took place at 2.30pm on June 17. The 23-year-old man had died from tuberculosis the day before.

The deceased was initially carried in a funeral hearse while on its way to a crematorium along Jalan Siram.

“About 50m from the crematorium, a group of men decided to carry the coffin themselves,” said Noorzainy in a statement.

“Based on the recording, there was a violation of SOPs under the movement control order as religious ceremonies such as the one in the video are not allowed.”

He added that the case was being investigated under Rule 9 of the Infectious Diseases Regulations 2021 and Section 269 of the Penal Code.