Malaysia

Assailant damages crucifix, Mother Mary statue at Keningau church

Unidentified attacker also destroys other religious items in St Francis Xavier cathedral

Updated 4 years ago · Published on 07 Jul 2022 1:12PM

Assailant damages crucifix, Mother Mary statue at Keningau church
A broken statue of Christ in Keningau’s Saint Francis Xavier church. The Keningau diocese urges the public to refrain from speculating on the incident. – Diocese of Keningau Facebook pic, July 7, 2022

by Jason Santos

KOTA KINABALU – Images of damaged items in a local church in Keningau have gone viral on social media, with the local diocese attributing the destruction to an unidentified person who had entered the premises.

The broken items include statues of Christ, Mother Mary and several other items seen lying on the floor of the Keningau Saint Francis Xavier church in the interior district.

The Keningau diocese’s Facebook post appealed to the public not to speculate on the incident.

“An unwanted and shocking incident has happened this morning at the Keningau St Francis Xavier around 7.30am after the morning mass when an unidentified individual entered the church and destroyed the crucifix,” the diocese said in the post.

A broken statue of Mother Mary in Keningau’s Saint Francis Xavier church. The Keningau diocese says the incident was caused by an unidentified assailant. – Diocese of Keningau Facebook pic, July 7, 2022
A broken statue of Mother Mary in Keningau’s Saint Francis Xavier church. The Keningau diocese says the incident was caused by an unidentified assailant. – Diocese of Keningau Facebook pic, July 7, 2022

Efforts have been made to reach out to the Sabah Council of Churches but there has been no response at the time of writing.

On June 26, police had arrested a foreigner for allegedly murdering two members of the St Maria church in Ladang Pinang Kalumpang at Semporna.

The Sandakan diocese was quoted by a local daily as saying they are still waiting for the outcome of the police investigation. – The Vibes, July 7, 2022

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