CYBERJAYA: Police have seized a vehicle resembling a mobile military rocket launcher used as a gimmick to promote a cafe here.
Sepang OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Aziz Ali said police were alerted by the public at about 11.30am Tuesday about the vehicle that was seen driving around the Cyberjaya area.
ACP Abdul Aziz said police tracked the vehicle to Jalan Semarak Api at the nearby Multimedia University and found that it had been modified to resemble an Armed Forces vehicle equipped with two rocket launchers.
He said the police approached the vehicle and ordered it to stop before arresting the two men inside and seized the vehicle.
ACP Abdul Aziz added that the owner of the vehicle claimed that he was using it as a gimmick for his cafe business.
A company’s attempt at advertising its coffee on a disused military vehicle left a bitter taste in the mouths of some people.
Zawara Coffee Sdn Bhd Group chief executive officer Kamarul Ariff apologised if the design on the decommissioned Pinzgauer 6x6 718M military utility vehicle had caused panic or offended anyone.
He said the company has been selling coffee using the former military vehicle, which was bought through a tender process, for the past two months.
Kamarul clarified that the paint scheme on the vehicle is not military camouflage, but shows food that the company sells, including churros, burgers and hotdogs.
He said the two rocket launcher replicas mounted on the vehicle were supposed to symbolise a play on the words "take a shot".
“By asking them to 'take a shot', we are encouraging our customers to try our Espresso shots.
“We are a family restaurant. Kids are entertained by the truck design. Some customers even take pictures with it.
“We were at Cyberjaya to promote our coffee and food to students in nearby universities,” he said.
Kamarul said the vehicle has been travelling to Zawara outlets in the Klang Valley for the past two months and was even put on static display at a shopping centre in Mutiara Damansara.
He added that no one had ever taken issue with the vehicle until recently.
Police arrested two men and seized the vehicle along Persiaran Semarak Api, Cyberjaya, after receiving reports from members of the public at about 11.30am Tuesday.
“In our defence, the Zawara logo was clear to see," Kamarul said.
“But we may have overlooked some current issues - like the attempted coup in Turkey - which may have caused people to panic when they saw our truck.
“We will repaint the truck and replace the rocket launchers with coffee cups when we get it back,” he told The Star Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Sepang OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Aziz Ali said the company meant no malice by operating the vehicle.
“They were just selling coffee. They posed no threat to the public and had no intention of hurting anyone.
“The two employees operating the vehicle were released after their statements were taken,” he said.
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