Court frees 17 men charged over 2018 temple ‘riot’

KUALA LUMPUR – The Petaling Jaya magistrate’s court today acquitted 17 men charged with rioting at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in 2018.

Magistrate Iskandar Zainol ruled that the prosecution failed to prove elements of the charge and that the witnesses had failed to identify the accused persons in the incident, media reported. 

Iskandar discharged all the accused today, without calling them to enter their defence.

Counsel Kirthiraj Rajasundram, who represented one of the accused, confirmed the acquittals to the New Straits Times.

“The court also said the witness was unreliable due to the inconsistency in their statement in court,” he was quoted as saying by NST.

Other grounds for the court’s acquittal included the prosecution’s failure to tender any weapon in court as an exhibit, such as a knife which was stated in the charge sheet.

The 17 accused are Saifullah Abdullah, Absal Eastrie Abdullah, Akmal Izzat Azi, Ashraf Mohd Faizal, Hasneezam Shah Samsudin, Irwan Noordin, Jalil Talib, Khairi Abdul Rashid, Khairol Anuar Zabidi, Nor Azmi Abdul Ghani, Norul Ismawi Islahuddin, Qayyum Mohd Faisal, Riduan Sekh Ruslan, Rozaihan Zakaria, Shahril Danniel Sajeel, Shukri Razali, and Zamri Md Said.

They are aged between 24 to 47 years old.

They were charged under the Penal Code with rioting and possession of dangerous weapons between 2am and 5am on November 26, 2018.

The riot at the temple that night spilled over to the following day and saw the death of 24-year-old firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, who was injured at the scene. He died 21 days later at the National Heart Institute.

Adib had been part of a Fire and Rescue Department team attacked during the riot that purportedly began over issues related to the temple’s relocation. Several vehicles were set ablaze while several people were injured.

An inquest was held into Adib’s death, and in 2019, the coroner’s court ruled that his death was the result of criminal acts involving two or more unidentified individuals. – The Vibes, June 27, 2023