KUALA LUMPUR: Seventeen men, who were charged with rioting over the fracas at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple five years ago were freed by the Petaling Jaya magistrate's court today.
Magistrate Iskandar Zainol discharged all the accused without calling them to enter their defence after he ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the elements of the charge.
Counsel Kirthiraj Rajasundram, who appeared for one of the accused, Saifullah Abdullah confirmed this when contacted.
The other accused are - Riduan Sekh Ruslan, Irwan Noordin, Khairi Abdul Rashid, Rozaihan Zakaria, Qayyum Mohd Faisal, Ashraf Mohd Faizal, Absal Eastrie Abdullah, Jalil Talib, Khairol Anuar Zabidi, Zamri Md Said, Shukri Razali, Nor Azmi Abdul Ghani, Shahril Danniel Sajeel, Hasneezam Shah Samsudin, Akmal Izzat Azi and Norul Ismawi Islahuddin.
Kirthiraj said the court ruled that the witnesses in the case failed to identify the accused person due to the early morning incident.
"The court also said the witness was unreliable due to the inconsistency of their statement in court.
"The prosecution also did not tender any weapon in court as exhibit such as a knife as stated in the charge sheet.
"All the weapons merely collected from the scene by the witnesses and not seizure from accused person," he said.
He said the prosecution also did not tender any forensic report of the weapon.
All the accused, aged between 24 and 47, were charged with rioting and possession of dangerous weapons between 2am and 5am on Nov 26, 2018.
They are charged under Section 148 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment, or a fine, or both upon conviction.
It had been reported that violence erupted in the wee hours of the morning of Nov 26 when a group of people entered the temple.
The fracas was said to have been over the issue of the temple being relocated, with some devotees refusing to do so.
The riot led to dozens of vehicles being torched and several people injured.
Roughly 24 hours later, more vehicles were torched and a Fire and Rescue Department team, who responded to a distress call, was attacked.
The incident also claimed the life of a firefighter, Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, who was injured at the scene before passing away a month later at the National Heart Institute.
In 2019, the coroner's court ruled that Adib's death was caused by criminal acts involving two or more unidentified individuals.