Seventeen held over riot at temple

Aftermath: Police personnel looking at a car that was flipped upside down during the scuffle at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in USJ 25, Subang Jaya.

KAJANG: Seventeen men have been arrested in connection with the riot at a temple in Seafield, Subang Jaya.

The riot also saw 18 cars and two motorcycles burnt as protesters had been gathering near the temple since 2am yesterday.

Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Mazlan Mansor said the suspects were in their 30s.

“I want to stress that the riot has nothing to do with any racial issue.

“Those who are spreading that it is a racial issue online must stop immediately,” he told a press conference in Semenyih.

A fight broke out between two groups of men in connection with the relocation of the temple, Comm Mazlan added.

Some 700 police personnel, including those from the Federal Reserve Unit, were deployed soon after the incident broke out.

“We managed to prevent the situation from escalating further,” he said.

Comm Mazlan warned that no one should take the law into their own hands.

“We will deal with those who break the law accordingly,” he said.