'Cop' appears on robber mural

In the end there was just a blank wall.

But what fun there was for about a day, after two unidentified graffiti artists elegantly modified a mural that portrayed Johor Baru in a bad light.

The mural, by Lithuanian-born artist Ernest Zacharevic, with its knife-wielding man waiting at a street corner to attack a woman carrying a handbag had gained a lot of attention for spotlighting crime in JB.

But by Tuesday morning, the "vandals" had added a policeman with handcuffs poised to arrest the robber.

Residents and passers-by welcomed the humorous addition, Malaysia's The Star reported.

At around 9.30am on Tuesday, Mr Zacharevic had posted on his Facebook page a picture showing two men drawing the figure of the policeman.

The men are seen squatting and painting the image while a woman looks on.

TRULY AMAZED

Mr Zacharevic, who called the change "politically correct", said in the post: "Now that's true vandalism!

"Malaysia never fails to amuse me (this is not a critique to whoever painted the policemen. I am truly amazed by the whole situation)."

Groups of people were still seen posing and taking photographs beside the graffiti around 3pm on Wednesday.

Ms Fung Lee Jean, 55, an ardent fan of Mr Zacharevic, was delighted when she discovered the new character.

She said: "I wanted to take pictures with the graffiti art and was surprised by the addition."

She said a lot of people had gathered at the spot to snap a picture as a memento.

But by 4pm Wednesday, officials from the Johor Baru Municipal Council had painted over the graffiti.

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