Local celebrity Mona Allen recently revealed that she was previously contacted by an agent of a casino to cast her in their advertisement. The revelation came amid all the buzz surrounding the controversial Hari Raya ads, which promoted online gambling activity.
Mona took to her Instagram Story yesterday (Sunday, 18th April) to share the conversation she had with the company. As stated by the sender, who claimed herself to be the manager of the casino, Mona will be paid according to the monthly wage for her involvement in the project.
Clearly, Mona (full name Munna Hafiraneza Allen) wasn’t having any of it and immediately turned down the offer. “Casino? Are you serious? We are currently in the fasting month. Are you a non-Muslim?” the “Hati Yang Dikhianati” actress responded to the offer. The woman then apologised for bothering her.
In related news about the viral Hari Raya ads, it’s been reported that 4 more individuals, who were involved in the second video have been arrested by the police. This came not long after the arrest of 8 other individuals in the first ad. Here’s the full version of the second viral clip:
Video Judi Raya ke-2
Yg pertama pun blum settle lagi#KerajaanGagal pic.twitter.com/Tqm2ZU8kj8
— MeMeow (@FiqhTabayyun) April 17, 2021
Dang Wangi district Police Chief, Asst. Comm. Mohamad Zainal Abdullah confirmed that all the actors were detained in Ampang. In a statement provided to the press (as per Sinar Harian), he said that all of them were remanded yesterday to assist in the investigation.
It’s also reported that a man, who is also said to be the main mastermind of the production of the two video ads, has been identified and is now wanted. According to Mohamad Zainal, the 35-year-old man, known as Loh Kee Hoe, was last seen in Kuala Lumpur.
In addition, based on the initial investigation conducted by the authorities, it was found that all of the talents in the second video were only paid RM200, which is slightly higher than the fee received by the actors in the first one (RM180).
It’s understood that the actors from the two clips know each other as well. “Preliminary investigations found that the filming of the ad was held under the same production company, but with different set of actors,” the police official was quoted as saying.
In a more recent update, it’s reported that five more individuals, including the director, composers and singers involved in the making of the video were arrested by the police last night. Mohamad Zainal stated, “The director, who was previously on the hunt, is believed to have received an order from an online gambling syndicate to produce the video.”
The five suspects will be remanded today while the hunt for the online gambling syndicate is still on.
Sources: Sinar Harian, mStar, AWANI.
