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JOHOR BARU: The Johor Islamic Religious Department (Jainj) has denied allegations of acting harshly during a raid on a Syiah group of followers at a house in Taman Bukit Kempas, here, Monday (Sept 9).
State Religious Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development Committee chairman Tosrin Jarvanthi said the raid conducted under Ops Hauzah, which took place from 11pm to 1.30am, was done according to the standard operating procedure (SOP).
He said the raid was carried out by 30 enforcement officers and assisted by 15 policemen.
“There was no aggression involved as it was done according to the SOP, although there have been police reports lodged by those involved over experiencing such treatment during the operation.
“However, we strongly deny the allegations of harsh treatment during the raid,“ he told reporters at a press conference here yesterday.
Tosrin said during the operation at the three-storey premises, 54 individuals comprising men and women and children between the ages of two and 70 were arrested.
However, he said only eight, consisting of four locals including the leader of the group in their 40s, two Singaporeans, a Yemeni and an Indonesian were detained for further investigation.
“Investigations found that the owner of the house is a non-Muslim and that the premises was rented, and during the raid, they said they were reading the Yasin and performing tahlil. When asked if they were having a sermon session, they denied it,“ he added.
He said the group was believed to be led by the same individual who had previously been investigated between 2013 to 2016, and that the arrests were made in accordance with Session 9 of the Johor Syariah Criminal Offenses Enactment 1997.
In the meantime, Tosrin said the state government through Jainj would uphold the ban on Syiah practices and teachings as decided by the Johor State Fatwa Committee in 2014. — Bernama
