Subang Hindu temple arrests above board.
- 102 people arrested – 49 Malays, 44 Indians, one Chinese, eight Indian-Muslims
- Lawyer and development director of developer MCT Bhd released on police bail
- Four other men pleaded not guilty on a charge of rioting
- Two men involved in riots charged – a mechanic, 29, sentenced to two months’ jail, a technician, 19, fined RM4,800
- DAP lawmaker Ganabatirau probed over FB message claiming a group of Muslims were attacking the temple
- Hindu temple leader Ramaji apologised for alleging fireman Adib run over by fire engine
Police today denied wrongfully arresting anyone who was asked to provide their testimony for investigations into the riots at the Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam temple last week.
Selangor police chief Commissioner Datuk Mazlan Mansor said all arrests were based on standard operating procedures where there were reasonable grounds to detain individuals suspected of involvement for questioning.
“If there is reason to believe that person might be involved, we will exercise our power to arrest them,” he told a news conference.
He added that not all arrests will necessarily lead to prosecution, clarifying that the Attorney-General’s Chambers will decide if charges were to be pressed.
“Based on the results of the following investigations, we won’t necessarily have to remand them for long,” he said.
Mazlan was responding to a faction of the Hindu temple led by S Ramaji who accused the police of wrongfully arresting some worshippers during the riots that broke out over a dispute of the land occupied by the temple.
The senior policeman said those who felt there were wrongfully arrests can file a complaint with the police who will look into the matter.
“If there are such accusations of those being arrested after recording their statements, please present their names and we will check,” he said.
Mazlan said that to date, 102 people have been arrested in connection with the violent clashes at the temple. He listed the racial breakdown of arrestees as 49 Malays, 44 Indians, one Chinese and eight Indian-Muslims.
However, he did not disclose the breakdown of suspects still under remand, or those who have been released on police bail or those already charged in court.
Police this week disclosed 66 individuals who were being sought to assist the probe in the fracas.
Mazlan added that so far only two of the 66 individuals currently being sought by the police have come forward to assist investigations.
“I believe more will come forward in the coming days.
“I advise them and their friends or acquaintances to bring them and come forward to assist the police,” he said.
Commenting on the police probe on Selangor state executive councillor V Ganabatirau regarding the incident, Mazlan said they would refer the investigation papers to the Deputy Public Prosecutor soon.
“We have taken the recording of his conversation and the case is being investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code,” he said.
The DAP lawmaker posted a Facebook message on November 26 claiming that a group of Muslims were attacking the temple.
This was criticised by various parties, including Selangor PAS, who described it as incitement.
On Monday evening, three police officers, believed to be from the Selangor contingent, were seen entering the office of Ganabatirau, who is also the Kota Kemuning assemblyman, at the State Secretariat Building and left about two hours later.
Meanwhile, Mazlan also said that two employees of the developer – a lawyer and the development director of MCT Bhd – were released on bail at 4.45pm yesterday.
“The bail at RM10,000 was granted by a magistrate with a bond under Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code and the two must be present at the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court on Dec 12 for further decision,” he said.
Two days ago, four men, including a security officer from development company One City Development Sdn Bhd, who were involved in the temple incident, pleaded not guilty at the Magistrate’s Court on a charge of rioting with a dangerous weapon.
Meanwhile, two men who were involved in the riot incidents – a mechanic, 29, was sentenced to two months’ in jail for failing to comply with police’s directive to disperse on Wednesday, two days after the riots, while a technician, 19, was fined RM4,800 on two counts of ignoring police personnel in charge of traffic control and failing to produce an identification card.
On a separate matter, Ramaji, who had claimed that fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim was run over by a fire truck during the riot last week, has clarified that he did not do so out of malice.
He said he made the comment after looking at a video clip of the incident because he wanted to highlight the kindness of people who rushed to help the injured firefighter.
“I humbly apologise for any confusion. I only wanted to show the good side of some people who rushed to the fireman’s aid, and not to cause any confusion about the whole incident, or blame anyone.
“I again sternly maintain that this was never a racial incident. In fact, I have been praying for the fireman every day.
“Some (people) were saying that the Indians pulled him out of the vehicle and thrashed him, and all these kind of things.
“So the next day when we got this video, we were very excited because we found that there is proof that our Indians didn’t do it. So when we got that proof, we thought that we should give it to the press,” Ramaji was quoted as saying.
He also stressed that he did not make the statement to defend members of the faction but only to show what he found, hoping to clear the air over the matter.