Police arrest two hospital employees for damaging Deepavali 'kolam'

Police have arrested two staffers of a private hospital in Klang for damaging a Deepavali kolam at the facility.

Klang Utara district police chief S Vijaya Rao informed the media that the duo had turned up at the district police headquarters last night, where they were arrested.

Those arrested were the man who was filmed damaging the kolam and the person who filmed it.

The two suspects - who are in their 20s and 30s, respectively - have been remanded for three days starting today.

Yesterday, a viral 39-second video showed one of the suspects clad in a baju Melayu walking on the decoration and using the tip of his shoes to damage it.

It had caught the attention of many netizens who lambasted the man, including one man who appeared on a TikTok video demanding the perpetrator make a public apology.

Internal probe ongoing too

The case has been classified under Section 298A of the Penal Code.

The law stipulates punishment for the offence of causing disharmony by insulting religion, which carries a jail sentence of a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years.

KPJ Healthcare - which owned the hospital where the incident took place - has launched its own internal investigation over the involvement of its employees in damaging the kolam.

They said stern action would be taken if their employees were involved in the incident.

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