SEVENTEEN men charged with rioting at the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Subang Jaya in 2018 were acquitted today by the Petaling Jaya Magistrates’ Court/

Magistrate Iskandar Zainol ruled that the prosecution had failed to provide prima facie evidence for the charges levelled against the 17 men. 

Iskandar said accused persons had not been positively identified, including by way of dock identification.

“No weapons, such as knives as stated in the charge sheet, were tendered in court as exhibits,” he said.

Iskandar ordered the bail to be returned to the accused following the acquittal.

The 17 charged were Saifullah Abdullah, Riduan Sekh Ruslan, Irwan Noordin, Khairi Abdul Rashid, Rozaihan Zakaria, Qayyum Faisal, Ashraf Faizal, Absal Eastrie Abdullah, Jalil Talib, Khairol Anuar Zabidi, Zamri Said, Shukri Razali, Nor Azmi Abdul Ghani, Shahril Danniel Sajeel, Hasneezam Shah Samsudin, Akmal Izzat Azi, and Norul Ismawi Islahuddin.

The men, aged 24 to 47, were charged under section 148 of the penal code for rioting and possession of dangerous weapons. They were alleged to have committed the offences between 2am and 5am on November 26, 2018.

The charges are punishable by up to five years, a fine or both.

The trial began in 2019. Twenty witnesses took the stand for the prosecution.

The case grabbed headlines after fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim died from injuries sustained while on duty at the scene of the riot.

In 2019, a coroner ruled that he had been killed by “more than two unidentified persons”.

Adib’s father, Kassim Abdul Hamid, filed suit seeking to cite then attorney-general Tommy Thomas for contempt of court over his remarks on the inquest.

Last year, Kassim withdrew the suit but his  lawyers called on the police to continue their search for Adib’s killers and bring them to justice. – June 27, 2023.