Temple officials now admit wedding took place, say cops

SERDANG: The temple officials who initially denied that a wedding had occurred here involving between 20 and 30 people have now changed their tune, says Serdang OCPD Asst Comm Ismadi Borhan (pic).

"They admitted that a wedding occurred there on Sunday (May 24) between 8am and 10am involving 20 to 30 people,” he said.

ACP Ismadi added that a police inspector went to the temple at Taman Serdang Raya around 7.45am on Monday (May 25) to meet with the committee.

"We have now classified our investigations under Section7(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Regulations 2020," he said in a statement on Monday.

He added that they were now tracking down all those involved in the incident.

ACP Ismadi said police received the report from a 41-year-old man who brought the issue to light.

"The man fears for his safety. He says that pictures of him were being circulated in WhatsApp groups. He claims he witnessed the gathering while on the way to work and took the initial video," said ACP Ismadi.

He added that the police are investigating the case under Section 507 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for sharing offensive or menacing content.

It was reported earlier that the police were investigating allegations of a gathering at a Hindu temple in Seri Kembangan, with police personnel visiting the temple following a claim that a wedding had been held there on Sunday (May 24) morning.

However, the temple's custodian said that the wedding in question had not been held on Sunday and the temple had not held any activities or ceremonies during the conditional movement control order (MCO) period.

Earlier, the Malaysia Gazette reported that about 100 people had attended a wedding that had allegedly taken place at the temple around 8am.

A video on its website showed people at the temple's gate dressed in traditional attire and cars parked along the roadside.

On Saturday (May 23), Malaysia Hindu Sangam said 84 temples in green zones nationwide will be open to worshipers on Fridays and Saturdays starting June 10.

But even then, marriage ceremonies could not be performed until further notice as part of efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19.