A COMMOTION broke out at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in USJ25, Subang Jaya, when police manning the area arrested an unidentified man at the back of the premises.

It is believed the man had been hiding in a container on the temple grounds.

More than 100 devotees tried to block the patrol car as police took the man away.

More police personnel then rushed to the scene began pushing away devotees blocking the car.

A devotee who declined to be named said the reason they were blocking the car was because they wanted the man to divulge who ordered the attack on the temple. 

Prior to the arrest, a container at the back of the temple premises where the suspect had been hiding caught fire.

It is not known how the fire started. Firemen were deployed to the scene and doused the flames in minutes.

Riot police were also called in to protect the area and prevent more untoward incidents from occurring. 

Earlier this morning at 2.15am, people armed with weapons and wearing masks stormed the temple grounds. 

More than 100 police personnel were deployed to the 147-year-old temple. Fire and Rescue Department officers were also at the scene to check on burnt vehicles.

Seven other men were also arrested over the early morning attack, Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor said.

All the men are in their 30s, he told a press conference in Semenyih.

“I want to stress that the incident has nothing to do with any racial issue,” Mazlan reportedly said, urging those spreading news of the attack as a racial issue to cease doing so. – November 26, 2018.