Two to be charged with murder, six others face drug rap
Six other suspects to face drug charges as police wrap up investigation
TWO of the suspects in the deadly fire which killed 23 people at a religious school in Kampung Datuk Keramat here are expected to be charged today with murder, while the others, with self-administration of drugs.
The teenagers will be taken to the Jalan Duta court complex.
City police chief Commissioner Datuk Amar Singh Ishar Singh said police had received instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers to charge the suspects.
“Two of the accused will be charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code (for murder). Six others will be charged under Section 15 of the Dangerous Drugs Act (for self-administration of drugs).”
It was learnt that one of the murder suspects will also be charged with a count under the Dangerous Drugs Act.
Earlier, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said police had wrapped up their probe into the incident.
On the morning of Sept 14, a fire broke out at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah religious school. Twenty-one of the 23 who died were students while the other two were wardens. Investigators later established that the fire, which began at the entrance of the dormitory’s third floor, arose under suspicious circumstances.
Forensic experts found traces of petrol and two gas cylinders at the entrance of the dormitory.
Closed-circuit television camera images from nearby buildings also showed the presence of several teenagers who had crept into the centre hours before the fire started.
The next day, police arrested seven suspects aged between 11 and 18. It was later established that the teens had allegedly torched the building as an act of revenge, after being embroiled in an argument with some of its students.
The incident was the second most serious fire-related tragedy to involve religious schools in Malaysia. In 1989, a fire razed the Taufiqiah Khairiah Al-Halimah in Padang Lumut, Kedah, and killed 27 students.
Since the Kampung Datuk Keramat incident, the government had formed a task force to streamline safety practices at religious schools.
Some of the proposed measures include amending legislation for religious schools to come under the purview of the Federal Government, which would ease aid distribution and monitoring.