KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — The police clarified today that a viral video allegedly showing two ethnic Indian women getting their heads shaved bald for allegedly stealing is not from Malaysia.

After false social media posts claiming that the women were punished by a Malay shop owner, the police said the video had come from Venezuela.

"Following this, many racist reactions were spurred, which were widely shared on social media and other communication networks.

"Checks revealed that the incident pictured in the video happened in Maracaibo, Venezuela, around 2016,” the police's corporate communication head Datin Asmawati Ahmad said in a statement

"It did not happen in Malaysia as falsely claimed by irresponsible quarters who had spread the video and such message,” she added.

Asmawati also warned the masses to not play up racially insensitive issues which can threaten the country's peace and the unity among Malaysians.

The 2:46-minute video shows men screaming around two women in what looks like an apparel store, while the women are getting their heads shaved.