Cops arrest suspect in Then Sze Koon temple arson case

PETALING JAYA: Police have arrested a suspect to facilitate the investigation into an alleged arson case at the 154-year-old iconic Then Sze Koon temple in Seremban.
Seremban district police chief ACP Thiew Hock Poh said the suspect, 24, was arrested in front of a restaurant in Temiang in Seremban at around 12.15pm today.
Police seized a cash box belonging to the temple as well as clothes worn by the suspect as witnessed in a CCTV recording investigators obtained from the temple.
The suspect is expected to be be remanded today.
In the incident on Sunday, five statues of Taoist deities and a century-old bell were destroyed in the 4am blaze at the temple's main prayer hall.
A resident of a neighbouring house alerted the Fire and Rescue Department to the fire.
A temple committee official said CCTV recording showed that a man was loitering in the area just before the fire started.
The Then Sze Temple built in 1864, is also known as the Centipede Temple, is a popular tourist destination.