RSSBANGKOK (UCAN) — Four unemployed Muslim men aged 18-29 were charged on Feb. 2 for arson attacks on two churches and a school in Taiping, local media reported.
Earlier, on Jan. 29, three other Muslim men aged 22-24 were charged for burning the Metro Tabernacle Church belonging to the Assemblies of God in Kuala Lumpur. The three — all dispatch riders and including two brothers — pleaded not guilty. The court has set March 12 for its next hearing.
If convicted, all seven could be jailed for up to 20 years.
Eleven churches, three other mosques and two surau (prayer rooms), a Sikh temple and a convent school have been targets of arson attacks or vandalized since Jan. 8 in various parts of the country.
The attacks were believed to be linked to the High Court ruling on Dec. 31 to allow the Catholic weekly “Herald” to use of the word “Allah” to refer to God in its Malay-language section.
Share
Twitter