IPOH, Oct 27 — Three 19-year-old men have been arrested in Penang over alleged arson and paint-splashing attacks on homes across several states, with police saying they were offered RM500 to RM1,000 per incident.
Perak police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said Taiping police arrested the three men at separate locations in Penang between 5pm and 9pm on October 22, and had helped solve nine vandalism cases across four states: two in Perak, three in Kedah, two in Johor, one in Penang and one in Selangor.
“The first suspect, a college student, was arrested in Tanjung Bungah, where police seized a mobile phone, clothing believed to have been worn during an incident and a grey Proton X70,” he told a press conference at Perak Police Headquarters here.
“The second suspect, a storekeeper, was arrested in Taman Sri Rambai, Bukit Mertajam, where police seized a mobile phone, clothing and a white Nissan Teana. The third suspect, also a college student, was arrested in Taman Machang Bubok, where police seized a mobile phone and a black Honda City.”
Mohd Alwi said preliminary investigations found that the suspects had no previous criminal records and had admitted to carrying out the attacks after being offered payment by an unidentified person they contacted only through WhatsApp.
Police are investigating two cases in Taiping.
In the first, reported on September 19, two men allegedly splashed red paint on a house in Taman Pura Jaya, Simpang, before throwing a bottle containing petrol and setting it alight towards the property.
This case is being investigated under Section 435 of the Penal Code for mischief by fire.
In the second case reported on October 10, two men allegedly splashed red paint on houses in Taman Sri Larut, Simpang, and a neighbouring property.
This case is being investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code for mischief, which carries a prison term of one to five years, a fine, or both, while Section 435 provides for imprisonment of up to 14 years and a possible fine.