Police launch manhunt for stadium riot suspects

KUCHING: Police have launched a manhunt to track down individual believed to have been involved in the riot at the State Stadium in Kuching during a Malaysia Cup match between Sarawak and Perak, last Saturday.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Muhammad Sabtu Osman said the suspected individuals should come forward and surrender themselves as their photographs would be published in the local media.
Following the riot which left a trail of damage to police and public property, the police carried out a post-mortem to identify weaknesses and list down recommendations to improve security in the future.
"We must not point fingers at anybody for the incident because security at the stadium is the responsibility of all," he said in a statement, here today.
"Police will continue to ensure security and make sure public property is not damaged by anyone. I hope we all will learn from the incident and take steps to avoid similar incidents in the future," he said.
Last Saturday, all hell broke loose after the Malaysia Cup match between Perak and Sarawak ended in a 1-1 draw, thus eliminating Sarawak from the quarterfinals.
It was unclear what triggered the riot but hundreds of rioters torched and overturned police and damaged public property, including tearing down the fence at the State Stadium and throwing flares onto the field.
Police have since detained five men, including four teenagers, who are believed to have been involved in the incident.
Muhammad Sabtu said on the day of the match, police had screened fans who entered the stadium since 5pm to ensure no prohibited items were taken into the stadium.
He added that after the incident police held discussions with the Football Association of Sarawak and the Stadium Board to coordinate certain issues, including security. – Bernama