Malaysian police arrest 18 for KL shopping centre riots
Malaysian police have arrested 18 individuals in relation to the riots that broke out in a Kuala Lumpur shopping centre over the weekend.
Police are still looking for the rest of the group, who had caused about RM70,000 (S$24,900) in damage to a shop at the centre.
Low Yat Plaza, a popular destination along the Bukit Bintang shopping stretch for shoppers looking for electronics, was engulfed in violence on Saturday and Sunday (July 11 and 12).
On Saturday, a group of men had attacked staff at an Oppo shop, after one of their friends was taken into custody for allegedly stealing a handphone that same day.
Videos of the incident went viral online.
On Sunday evening, a group of about 100 men who claimed to be from various non-governmental groups, gathered outside Low Yat Plaza, in an apparent attempt to "get proper justice" for what had happened on Saturday.
They entered the mall, but the police, who were already there, managed to lead them out shortly after.
However, at around midnight, a group of 50 to 60 men attacked a food outlet near the mall and assaulted patrons with motorcycle helmets.
During the attack, two members of the media were injured.
According to The Star Online, explosions could be heard at the scene.
Over the weekend, rumours spread that the attacks were race-related, with some Facebook pages claiming that Malay youths were specifically being targeted by Low Yat Plaza shopkeepers.
However, both the Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Prime Minister Najib Razak took to social media to urge people not to spread such rumours.
Source: The Star Online, New Straits Times, Astro Awani, Twitter, YouTube
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