POLICE have remanded seven boys in connection with Thursday’s fire at Pusat Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah, and have classifed the case as murder and arson.

Bernama reported Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh as saying that the seven had been remanded from today to help investigations into the tragedy that resulted in the deaths of 21 pupils and two wardens of the residential religious school in Kuala Lumpur.

He said at a press conference today that all suspects in the case had been arrested between 6pm yesterday and 2.30am today. 

Amar said at the press conference that the suspects were between the ages of 11 and 18.

Amar said the case was being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder and Section 435 for causing mischief by fire.

But he stressed that police and Kuala Lumpur City Hall would continue a separate probe on the school operator for alleged lapses in building safety.

He said investigations revealed that the motive of the seven boys in allegedly starting the fire was a teasing match between them and the tahfiz students that got out of  hand.  

Amar said six of the suspects had tested positive for drugs, and two of them had a criminal record.

“Some of them are school dropouts from the (Kampung) Datuk Keramat area,” he said.

Amar confirmed earlier reports of the existence of gas cylinders outside the room that burnt down. He said the cylinders were brought up from the ground floor.

He said police had collected samples of a substance that was believed to have been used to hasten the spread of the fire. The samples are being tested by the Chemistry Department.

“That was why we confiscated the suspects’ belongings,” he said, refering to the seizure of five sets of shirts and trousers, four motorcyle helmets, three motorcycles and three mobile phones from the suspects to test for traces of the substance.

Amar also confirmed that one of the suspects was the person caught on closed-circuit television cameras on the adjacent Muslim Consumers Association building.

He also said the tahfiz pupil who had helped in investigations was not involved in any criminal activity.

Amar was initially scheduled to brief the press on updates of the case tomorrow, but brought it forward to tonight as reports of the suspects’ detention began circulating on social media.

He advised the public not believe unconfirmed reports spread on social media.

“That is why I am holding this press conference tonight, so that I could explain the facts and prevent people from speculating.”  

Earlier, Pusat Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah principal Muhammad Zahid Mahmod said he had heard about the arrests.

He said those arrested were outsiders who had a misunderstanding with the tahfiz pupils.

“That was what I heard. They had a misunderstanding behind the centre. The tahfiz pupils always go there (by the lake) to play, ” said Zahid.

Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department director Khirudin Drahman had said the intensity of the flames that engulfed the second floor of the three-storey building suggested that it was not caused by a short circuit.

He also confirmed that the fire and rescue team also found two cooking gas cylinders at the dormitory door. – September 16, 2017.