SHAH ALAM, Jan 14 — Police have arrested an unemployed local man on suspicion of starting a fire that destroyed several terrace houses in the Kampung Johan Setia housing area near Masjid Al-Hidayah in Klang yesterday.
Klang Selatan deputy police chief Kamalariffin Aman Shah said the 44-year-old suspect was detained by police at the scene yesterday.
“The suspect has 15 criminal records and 11 drug-related records. An application for the suspect’s remand will be made at the Klang court today,” he said.
“The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Klang Selatan district police headquarters (IPD) has opened an investigation paper, under Section 436 of the Penal Code, for the offence of mischief by fire with intent to destroy a house,” he said in a statement today.
Earlier, Kamalariffin said the Klang Selatan IPD received information from the public about a fire at a housing area in Kampung Johan Setia.
“Police, upon arrival at the scene, confirmed the fire broke out at two separate locations, less than 500m apart, involving one house at the first location and five houses at the second location,” he said.
He confirmed there were no casualties in the incident, adding that the extent of the damage and the cause of the fire are still under investigation.
Earlier, media reports said five terrace houses in Batu 5, Kampung Johan Setia, near Masjid Al-Hidayah, Klang, were 95 per cent destroyed in the fire.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) assistant director (operations) Ahmad Mukhlis Mukhtar said his department received an emergency call about the incident at 2.37pm.
