The foreigner who slapped an imam at the Nat­ional Mosque during Friday pra­yers will be remanded for two weeks.

Man who slapped imam held for two weeks



Sudden attack: CCTV capture of the moment when a man suddenly pushed and slapped the imam.



KUALA LUMPUR: The foreigner who slapped an imam at the Nat­ional Mosque during Friday pra­yers will be remanded for two weeks.

Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Zainol Samah said the 31-year-old In­­dian national would be held until Oct 2.

He said the man did not have his travel documents with him when he was detained.

His passport was, however, handed over to the police by his housemate later that night. Checks found that the man entered Malaysia on June 18 on a social visit pass.


“That expired on July 17. He is now being probed under the Imm­igration Act for overstaying,” ACP Zainol said.

During the incident, the imam Mohd Zuhairee Mohd Yatim was reciting the surah when the man sud­denly went to the front row and shoved him at about 1.30pm.

The man tried to grab the imam’s microphone before slapping him on his right cheek and attempted to le­ad the prayers.

However, maintenance personnel intervened and apprehended the assailant.

ACP Zainol said the foreigner ap­p­e­ared to be mentally unstable.

“He also claimed that a voice told him to be the imam.”