Police Late In Handling Temple Riot Says Ex Igp

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The police were late in handling the trespassing of Sri Maha Mariamman temple on Nov 26 as well as the riot the next day, according to former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan
He also noted how the police were late in arresting the rioters which has prolonged the identification of those who committed offences that night
Speaking to NST Online, Musa said the police should have arrested them earlier as information would still be fresh
“For example, during my tenure with PDRM, a total of 130 individuals were arrested during the Hindraf gathering at Ampang Park on the day itself
“The situation was similar to the temple riot. Participants at the Hindraf gathering injured several policemen and firemen and damaged public as well as police vehicles
“However, at that moment, all the information were still 'hot' (new) because we did a major arrest before we conducted further investigation,” he added
However, Musa, who served as IGP from 2006 to 2010, chose not to blame the police as he was confident they have their own strategies
During the riot, questions were raised as to why the police did not swing into action earlier to disperse the crowd since there were members of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) present at the scene
Commenting on this, inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun had said police refrained from using water cannons to avoid escalating the situation
“Are we going to use water cannons on a place of worship? Is it logical to do so? If we did that, we will invite (retaliation) and what not. We must act according to the situation at hand," he added
Responding to another question on why the police did not stop the rampage, Fuzi said it is easier said than done, and complained about how the police are blamed regardless of what action is taken
"It's easy for you to say. It's not that easy (for us) because (the incident took place) near a place of worship. If we had used force, we would be blamed. If we help, we would be blamed as well," he added
Meanwhile, Musa suggested that the police take a holistic approach in gathering information in connection with the riot which led to the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.
“I hope that police will work on all the information they have to identify those involved in the riot
“The investigating officers also need to make sure they have strong evidence so those who killed Adib would be served justice,” he added
Police have claimed that Adib was dragged out of his vehicle and assaulted. He succumbed to his injuries on Monday night. - Mkini

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