Church arson: Brothers and friends held after hospital tip-off on burn case

By V. Shuman and Alang Bendahara

KUALA LUMPUR: Police believe they have solved the arson incident at the Metro Tabernacle Church with the arrest of eight suspects over the past two days.The suspects include two brothers, their uncle and a group of their friends, comprising mainly despatch riders, office boys and clerks. Initial investigations revealed that the group was solely responsible for the incident at the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati on Jan 8. Police have yet to ascertain if the suspects are linked to any group as investigations are ongoing. “We believe we have solved the arson incident at the Metro Tabernacle Church,” said Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin.

He said police were still investigating the acts of vandalism at other places of worship. The task force set up to investigate the arson attempts got a break in its investigations when one of the suspects turned up at Kuala Lumpur Hospital recently to seek treatment for burns on his chest and left arm. He told hospital authorities he had suffered the injuries while burning rubbish using petrol. Hospital authorities, however, informed police and the suspect was kept under surveillance. It was learnt that several undercover policemen got close to the suspect and learnt that he was one of those involved in the arson incident. After further intelligence, police arrested the suspect at the hospital on Tuesday afternoon and in follow-up operations, picked up seven other suspects, all from the Ampang area.

The last arrest was made at 5.30am yesterday. The suspects, between the ages of 21 and 26, were taken to the magistrate’s court where police obtained a one-week remand order. Bakri said the suspects were being investigated for causing mischief by fire, a charge which carries a maximum of 20 years’ jail upon conviction. The CID chief warned the public not to link the suspects to any group. They believe the youths were emotionally charged and out to create mischief, without realising the implications of their action.Investigations also revealed that the incident was not organised or planned. This was based on the closed-circuit television footage which showed youths on two motorcycles and in a car who turned up at the church without helmets or masks. This led police to believe that the youths were locals from the area and police operations were centred on that area.

“We are always here to ensure the safety of the public,” said Bakri, who thanked the public for the information which led to the arrests of the suspects less than two weeks after the incident. Metro Tabernacle was the first Christian place of worship set on fire on Jan 8. Following that, eight other churches, a Sikh temple, a mosque, a surau and a Convent school were also targets. The acts of vandalism were believed to be linked to a High Court ruling on Dec 31 allowing the Catholics to use the word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia section of the Herald, their weekly publication. The government has appealed against the decision and has been granted a stay of execution.

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