Main suspect in torching of Perlis mufti’s car nabbed

Perlis cops have apprehended the main suspect in the torching of state mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin's official vehicle last March.

Perlis police chief Noor Mushar Mohd said the man, known only as Zaini, was picked up in the state last night and has been remanded.

Noor Mushar, however, reportedly said his team is still on the lookout for one Mie Tomoi.

“In all, five suspects have been arrested to assist with investigations into the case and all have been remanded.

“We are still searching for Mie Tomoi and (I) am confident the suspect will be apprehended soon,” he was quoted saying by Berita Harian today.

The police chief added that both Zaini and Mie Tomoi are also believed to be behind last year’s assault and robbery involving Perlis Islamic affairs department (Jaip) director Hazman Hassan.

Zaini, according to police, is the main suspect in both the torching of Asri’s car and in Hazman’s attack.

Hazman was reportedly injured on his left cheek after he was slashed with a samurai sword during a robbery at his house in Kangar last September.

Noor Mushar reportedly said: “He (Zaini) is also responsible for paying Mie Tomoi in both cases.”

Police had initially speculated that the source of the fire which damaged Asri’s car could have been from a petrol bomb. Two men were captured on a neighbour’s CCTV recording during the time.

On Sunday, it was reported that police arrested a suspect, a 36-year-old unemployed man, who purportedly confessed to having set the mufti’s car on fire with Mie Tomoi for payment of RM500.

According to him, the people who paid him initially wanted the mufti’s face splashed with acid, but eventually agreed to have the latter’s car set on fire instead.

Meanwhile, yesterday, three members of PAS' volunteer corps Unit Amal were picked up to assist in investigations.

Police had also, earlier this month, arrested a man who allegedly sent a Facebook message threatening to physically harm Asri.

This after Asri lodged a police report claiming that he received a threatening Facebook message from a user by the name of ‘Sandev Sandev’.