He said M Vikram Naidu was charged with extortion under Section 385 of the Penal Code at the Ipoh magistrates’ court on Jan 15 and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Vikram stands accused of threatening a woman and demanding money for protection of her premises.

Yusri said Vikram was detained on Jan 9 following a police report by a woman who alleged Vikram and five other men threatened her, demanding protection money for her property.

Meanwhile, yesterday, a viral social media post claimed that Vikram had been assaulted and injured while in police custody.

In the video, former DAP assemblyman David Marshel accused the police of protecting illegal lottery outlets, stating that the person who exposed such alleged activities was beaten and brought to court.

Yusri later confirmed they received a police report from Vikram on the day of his arrest claiming that he had been beaten and injured by the police.

“Police have opened an investigation paper about the claim. The detainee was also taken to the hospital for examination,” Yusri said in a statement, but added that he was not in a position to give further details.

Last month, Vikram’s videos, in which he was seen confronting workers at business premises that he claimed were selling 4D numbers illegally while calling on the police to act, went viral on social media.

Speaking to FMT, Yusri said police had investigated and acted against the premises but did not elaborate, saying that more information would be available in due course.