Man allegedly runs amok, damages Hindu temple

IPOH: A man who allegedly ran amok damaged several deities in a Hindu temple on Jalan Ashby near here Sunday evening.

In the incident, the man opened the unlocked temple gate and parked his car in the temple at around 5pm.

A temple committee member said the man did not appear to be of sound mind.

"Our assistant temple priest said the man was holding a machete. He then took a metal rod from his car and started breaking the nine deities of the Navagraham (nine planets)," he said.

"After that, he went into the main deity area and started breaking decorative statues," he said, adding that the man could not access the main altar to do further damage as it was locked.

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"The priest called the temple committee members and we immediately alerted the police," he said.

The man then drove away from the temple but met with an accident in Fair Park, where he was arrested by police.

A few devotees gathered at the temple after news of the incident spread on social media, and some went to the police station to lodge a report over the incident.

A police source said they had arrested the man and were currently investigating the matter.