Twenty-one Hindu temples in Perak have reported break-ins over the past three weeks and the loss of gold placed at the bottom of idols, Perak police chief Mohd Shukri Dahalan said today.   

Police believed that a syndicate was involved in these thefts in the three districts of Larut, Matang and Selama; Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Siput, he told reporters after the police monthly assembly in Ipoh.  

He said the thefts were committed at night and the temple caretakers only realised the loss the following day.

The total loss had yet to be ascertained, he added.

Mohd Shukri advised the temple caretakers to cooperate with patrolling policemen to prevent these thefts and to arrest the thieves.

On another matter, he said police were investigating a report on the splashing of red paint on billboard portraits of Perak Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir in the Manjung area yesterday.  

He warned that the culprits would not escape the law.

- Bernama