Govt agency director leaks info on probe into fire of tahfiz school - Deputy PM
Adie Suri Zulkifli and Ili Shazwani
New Straits TimesSeptember 17, 2017
KANGAR: A director of a government agency has leaked information on police investigation into the deadly fire at tahfiz school, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said it was not the police which spread the information on their probe in social media.
"I was informed by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun and Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Amar Singh that an agency was responsible for leak.
"This should not have happened and all quarters should respect the investigation process.
“No head of department or agency should share sensitive information before the investigation is concluded," he said at a press conference after opening the Arau Umno divisional delegates’ meeting at Dewan 2020 here today.
Zahid, who is also Umno vice-president, said police had withheld such information from the public to avoid disrupting the investigation process.
On another note, he commended the police for solving the case within 48 hours following the arrest of seven teenagers
On Thursday, 21 students and two teachers of Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school in Kuala Lumpur were killed when its building caught fire.
It was reported that police have nabbed seven teenagers, aged between 11 and 18, since since Friday, based on security camera footage from an adjacent building.
The teenagers are believed to have intentionally set the fire following a misunderstanding with some of students from the tahfiz school.
Zahid: Mete out severe punishment to tahfiz school culprits
Adie Suri Zulkefli & Ili Shazwani
New Straits TimesSeptember 17, 2017
KANGAR: Those responsible behind the blaze which claimed the lives of 21 students and two wardens at Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school on Thursday morning
should be slapped with multiple criminal charges as a deterrent to others.
Describing the crime as unacceptable from the legal and humane perspective, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi feels the suspects should also face other legal charges apart from provisions in the Penal Code.
Zahid, who is also Home Minister said it is up to the Attorney-General's Chambers to decide on charges but feels that it should reflect the severity of the crime.
"In my view, besides being charged under the Penal Code, the culprits should also be slapped with other charges to reflect the severity of their crime although they are juveniles and also as a deterrent to others," he said after opening the Arau Umno division delegates meeting here today.
Zahid also commended the police force solving the case within 48 hours of the incident.
He was commenting on calls by many quarters for the minors to be charged and tried as adults based on their action and the tragic outcome of the incident.
Zahid adds the punishment should be deterrent one so as to be a preventive in nature.
It will prevent more serious offences involving juveniles, such as massacre via firearms which had taken place in schools in developed nations, he adds.
It was reported that Kuala Lumpur police arrested seven teenagers, aged between 11 to 18, in relation to the tragic incident.
Police had identified the suspects through the closed-circuit television footage retrieved from Malaysian Muslim Consumers' Association (PPIM) building located adjacent to the school.
It was reported that six of the teenagers were tested positive for ganja and police believed they were high on drugs when they committed the crime.
Investigation revealed that the suspects had set a fire at the school hostel located on the top floor of the three-storey building following a misunderstanding with some of the students.
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