A 34-year-old suspect who had allegedly desecrated holy statues in the St Anne's Church in Bukit Mertajam is purportedly a "mentally ill" person who needs hospitalisation, said Seberang Perai City councillor David Marshel.
David said the family of the suspect approached him after reading his Facebook post about the incident last night.
He said the suspect's wife, a 30-year-old manager, lodged a police report about her husband's behaviour in Petaling Jaya at 9.20pm last night, stating that the suspect needed urgent psychiatric treatment.
"His family found him in Tanjung Malim, Perak and brought him home to their house in Sungai Buloh, Selangor," added David, who is NGO Malaysian Tamilar Kural president.
"However, he turned aggressive and beat his wife but police managed to haul him up and send him to the hospital in Sungai Buloh.
"He was later discharged after taking some medicines and went to his mother's home," David added.
David has advised the family to send him for psychiatric treatment to avoid him getting involved in further incidents.
He urged all quarters to remain calm as the incident last night did not involve any foul play but was an unfortunate action by a mentally unstable person.
"I will be donating the RM200 to cover damages for the statues and hope the situation will return to normal," David said.
"We hope the church will forgive him and pray for him," David added.
David has contacted Central Seberang Perai police chief Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid about the matter.
When contacted, Nik Ros Azhan said the suspect has not been apprehended.
"We will confirm it when we have taken the suspect in," he told Malaysiakini.
In the 4.45pm incident at the Church on Wednesday, the suspect entered the church and allegedly sprayed an "X" sign on the statues using black paint.
The security guard on duty that day stopped the man, who later asked for a pen and paper, which he scribbled a verse from the Bible.
He then quickly left on a motorcycle, but the guard failed to take note of the model of the motorbike or its registration number.
He only described the man as "angry".
Nik Ros Azhan had said police would be investigating the case under Section 427 of the Penal Code for mischief which carries a maximum five-year jail or fine or both if convicted.
Annually in July, thousands would carry out their pilgrimage at the St Anne's Church, which was founded in 1846 by French missionaries to honour Saint Anne, the mother of Mary and Jesus’ grandmother.
On Sept 5, Bishop Sebastian Francis announced that the church has been conferred the title of minor basilica by the pope. - Mkini
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