KUALA LUMPUR: A grandfather to one of the individuals arrested for allegedly setting fire to Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school was sad that his grandson was involved.
The Taman Tasik Dato’ Keramat toilet caretaker said his 15-year-old grandson became a different person when he started to hang out with the other suspects.
The 55-year-old man said that his grandson never attended school and spent most of his time with the other teenagers at the lake.
“They (the suspects) have a very strong influence on my grandson,” he told an online news portal.
“His behaviour changed after befriending those teenagers,” he said, looking distraught after being showed the mugshots of his grandson.
He added that the suspect’s parents were divorced and the boy’s mother is working as a janitor.
Meanwhile, a security guard of the lake area claimed he was previously threatened by the same group.
Security guard Hamat Zahidin told the online new portal that he had bumped into the teenagers who seemed to be under the influence of drugs.
“I have advised them not to do immoral things at this area but they threatened to hit me if I report the matter to the authorities,” he said, adding that the group always loiter around the area during morning and evening.
Hamat added he had once reported the matter to the police but there was no follow-up action.
Commenting on the incident, Hamat said he was sad that it happened to such good people.
It was reported that Kuala Lumpur police have arrested seven teenagers, aged between 11 to 18, in relation to Kampung Datuk Keramat tahfiz fire due to a verbal spat between the tahfiz school pupils and the teenagers.
Police had identified the suspects through the closed-circuit television footage retrieved from Malaysian Muslim Consumers’ Association (PPIM) building located adjacent to the school.
The suspects, six of the teenagers were tested positive for ganja and police believed they were high on drugs when they committed the crime.
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/09/280839/man-says-grandson-not-same-hanging-out-teenagers-dato-keramat-lake