CJMYA man entered the St Anne’s Church in Bukit Mertajam yesterday afternoon at 4.45pm and proceeded to vandalise by spraying the statues there with an “X” before he was stopped by a security guard.
Police investigators said the man had then asked the guard for a pen and paper and wrote a verse from the Bible then hurriedly left on a motorcycle.
“The guard failed to take note of the model of the motorbike or its registration number, but described the man as angry,” police said, in a statement sent to reporters.
Besides the statues, the man has also sprayed the floors with a black spray paint with the damage estimated to be around RM200,
Central Seberang Perai police chief Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said police are looking at nearby closed-circuit television cameras to obtain more details. He added the case is being investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code for mischief which carries a maximum five-year jail sentence or a fine, or both, if convicted.
Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Steven Sim who is the MP for Bukit Mertajam said he had spoken to Nik Ros Azhan and the parish priest Henry Rajoo on the matter and urged police to be given the room to fully investigate the incident.
“In this season of Advent, our focus should be on love, hope and faith,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
The church founded by a French missionary in 1846 in honour of Saint Anne, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus. It is a popular place of worship with thousands of believers from all over the world making their way to the church in July annually for the Novena feast.
People of different faiths petition to Saint Anne and collect holy water flowing from the hill where the church is located.
On Sept 5, the church was declared as a minor basilica by the pope, making it the first in Malaysia .
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Jimmy Tan
