KUALA LUMPUR: Another man has been detained over the acid attack on national footballer Faisal Halim.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the suspect, in his late 30s, was arrested in Bandar Baru Bangi on Monday.
“This is the second suspect detained in connection with the acid attack.
“He has been remanded for five days until Saturday,” Comm Hussein said yesterday.
He said the motive for the attack is still under investigation.
“The case has been taken over by the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department Special Investigation Unit,” he said.
Comm Hussein said the first suspect detained in connection with Sunday’s attack on the national winger was released following the expiry of his remand order yesterday, as he did not have anything to do with the attack.
“He was initially arrested as his motorcycle’s registration number matched the one traced to the scene of the attack.
“However, we believe the real culprit used a fake registration number, thus the first man detained will be released,” Comm Hussein said.
However, he said the man, in his 20s, was rearrested after testing positive for drugs.
It was reported that he was detained in Pandan Indah on Sunday night following the attack at a shopping mall in Kota Damansara. He was then remanded for two days.
Police received information from the public at 5.51pm that a national footballer had been splashed with liquid believed to be acid when he was at the mall.
Faisal, who is also known as Mickey, is being treated for fourth-degree burns at the intensive care unit (ICU) and may require more surgery, said Selangor Football Association deputy president Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar on Monday.
Images of his injury went viral with the public being shocked that such an incident happened to a national footballer.
Faisal’s Harimau Malaya teammate, Akhyar Rashid, was robbed in Kuala Terengganu last week and suffered bruises.
