200 youths carried out pre-dawn raid at temple, says witness

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PETALING JAYA: About 200 youths, mostly armed with sticks, stormed the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Subang Jaya at about 2am on Nov 26, 2018, to take control of the premises, the magistrates’ court heard today.

M Nagaraju, who leads a faction in the temple committee, said about 200 plastic chairs and window glass panels in the temple hall were broken, and three vehicles parked outside the premises were damaged.

The 10th prosecution witness in the trial of 17 men charged with rioting said the youths came into the premises from the back of the temple to chase devotees away and take control of the site for a developer.

“There were about 20 people, including me in the temple, and they threatened us and told us to vacate the place,” he said when examined by deputy public prosecutor Natasha Azmi.

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