PUTRAJAYA: The arson attack on a senior Customs officer yesterday was likely due to his previous posting in the enforcement division.
Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said it was unlikely that the officer’s current post in the Goods and Services Tax division had triggered the attack.
“The officer just joined the GST division. Before that, he was actively involved in numerous operations to take down syndicates involved in smuggling activities worth millions of ringgit,” he told reporters at the World Customs Day celebration.
Initial police investigations have revealed there were elements of foul play in the Presint 11 fire which destroyed four vehicles parked in front of the senior officer’s house on Tuesday.
Police found the head of a hammer on the hood of a Mercedes Benz which was completely destroyed in the 3.30am fire, and a lighter on the floor at the scene.
The pre-dawn fire had engulfed two cars, a Mercedes Benz and a Perodua MyVi, which belonged to the Customs officer’s wife and daughter, respectively. The two other vehicles, a Proton Saga and a Honda CRV, were partially damaged.
Customs senior assistant director Nor Azman Mat Jini, 59, who is attached with the GST division; his wife Noor Hayati Khairuddin, 57; their daughter and son-in-law as well as their two grandchildren, aged 2 and 6, were asleep when the fire broke out.
Johari said police should be allowed to conduct their investigations into the case.
“Since it is now a police case, I do not want to speculate about it,” he said.
He also urged Customs officers and staff to lodge police reports immediately upon receiving threats, before anything bad happens.