Man arrested in Chow Kit hotel over Quran burning, theft investigations

SEREMBAN, Aug 25 — Police arrested a man at a hotel in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday to assist investigations into the burning and theft of copies of the Quran.

Negeri Sembilan Police Chief Datuk Alzafny Ahmad said the 25-year-old suspect was arrested following a public complaint about a fire near a field in Senawang on Aug 22.

“Investigations revealed that the fire involved several copies of the Quran. Police later received a report at about 4.45pm the same day regarding the theft of copies from a mosque in Forest Heights here.

“The suspect was subsequently arrested at about 9.30pm last night during a raid at a hotel in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur,” he said in a statement here today.

He said police found two bags containing 16 copies of the Quran during a search of the hotel room and seized three mobile phones as well as the suspect’s personal belongings.

Alzafny said all the copies of the Quran recovered from the suspect were believed to have been taken without permission from mosques and surau in the Chow Kit area.

“We are not ruling out the possibility that some of the copies were taken from a university in the north, following the discovery of the university’s ownership stamp.

“A search was also conducted at the suspect’s family home in Senawang on the same day, resulting in the seizure of 36 Quran covers from his room,” he said.

Alzafny said initial investigations found a link between the discovery and the Quran-burning incident on Aug 22, with the case being investigated under Sections 380 and 295 of the Penal Code.

He said checks revealed that the suspect had four previous criminal records and had just completed a two-month police supervision order. — Bernama