Legal eagle who allegedly hired thugs was a company adviser, says IGP

Inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun has clarified that the "lawyer" who allegedly hired thugs to secure the Seafield Temple that led to riots was a company adviser.

The person had since been arrested by police but his status as a lawyer had come into question.

The suspect's lawyer Haniff Khatri had claimed that his client was a non-practising lawyer.

"Actually, the 'lawyer' is an adviser to the company. I don't want to elaborate more as the minister and Selangor menteri besar have made statements.

"I don't want to add contradictory statements. All I can say the person who was arrested was an adviser," he said.

Pressed if the adviser was an active lawyer with a licence, he said this had not been established.

"If he is a lawyer, then he is a lawyer, but we have not come to the conclusion," he said.

Fuzi added that police will be summoning all relevant parties for questioning.

Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today told the Dewan Rakyat that the riot broke out after the suspect hired 50 men to secure the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya, leading to clashes with Hindu devotees. 

The suspected allegedly paid RM150,000 but each man only got around RM150 to RM300.

One City Development Sdn Bhd, which owns the land on which the temple sits on, had denied hiring or authorising the use of thugs.

There had been a consent judgment to relocate the temple but the judgment could not be executed due to disagreements.

On a separate matter, Fuzi said it was too early to say if police will give the greenlight for the rally against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) on Dec 8.

Fuzi said organisers had yet to secure consent from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to use its desired venue at Dataran Merdeka.

"They need approval from DBKL, then we will decide. Whether we approve or no will depend on the security situation," he said. - Mkini