‘Suspects show no remorse’
KUALA LUMPUR: The seven teenagers who allegedly set fire to the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah religious school last week did not show any sign of remorse, even after being picked up by police.
Sources said the suspects, aged between 11 and 18, had put on tough faces when questioned about the heinous act, which led to the death of 23 people, including students as young as 6.
“It is like they did not have any remorse. The teenagers did not even say sorry for having caused the tragedy. They looked down most of the time when questioned about the incident. Maybe they had accepted that they were in the wrong. There was no crying to show that they felt sorry, even the young ones.”
They said initial investigations revealed that the suspects wanted to exact revenge on the students following a verbal exchange, which saw water bottles being thrown.
Residents near the school said they often saw the teenagers loitering in Taman Tasik Datuk Keramat behind the school.
A resident in his 40s said he recognised some of the suspects based on the photographs that went viral on Saturday.
“Those arrested are from this neighbourhood. I have seen them here many times, riding their motorcycles.
“From what we (residents) understand, most of them are children of immigrants who live in Kampung Datuk Keramat.
“The kids are born here, but they do not go to school.”
Another resident in her 60s said for many years, the lake area had been used as a hangout by “naughty kids” to smoke and possibly consume drugs.
“It has been that way for years. Sometimes, you see large groups of children hanging around the lake.”
She said the neighbourhood had also been experiencing more crime, especially thefts and house break-ins.
As for the fire, she believed the teenagers could have been angry at the students for telling them off.
“These students, you know, being kids, will tell them off, which may have led to name-calling and a verbal exchange.”
Tailor Almy Zubir, 55, said he recognised the suspects as part of a group who frequented the lake area.
On Saturday, city police chief Datuk Amar Singh said police believed that they had solved the case following the arrests.
He said police established that the teenagers had intended to burn the school in Jalan Keramat Hujung over vengeance following a name-calling incident between them and the students recently.
He said the suspects, who were being investigated for murder and causing mischief by fire, used two cooking gas cylinders and an accelerant to set the building on fire early on Thursday morning.