PETALING JAYA: Just days after its introduction in Malaysia, Pokemon Go has seen the police “catch” a user, who was busy trying to look for a “little monster” to catch.
New Straits Times reported that a businessman was issued a traffic summons by the police for playing Pokemon Go while driving in Kuantan, Pahang.
According to the report, the man was stopped by police while he was driving along Jalan Stadium at about 11am on Saturday, for using his mobile phone while driving.
The man was then found to have been playing Pokemon Go, and was duly issued a summons.
The Pokemon Go craze has gripped the nation since it was made available in Malaysia on Saturday, with thousands of users having downloaded it into their mobile phones and going around preoccupied with their phone screens, while they try to “catch ’em all”.
Local religious authorities have come down hard on the game, with the likes of the Department of Islamic Development of Malaysia (Jakim) and other state religious bodies, saying the game will have a negative impact on users. They urged Muslims to stay away from the “harmful” and “dangerous” game.
Other countries, where the Pokemon Go was released earlier, have also had cases of smartphone users getting into accidents and injuring themselves in the midst of playing the game, by watching the phone and not paying attention to their surroundings.