A man, aged 32, has confessed to the police that he acquired knowledge on bomb-making from the internet and purchased the necessary ingredients online. Alongside this, the suspected bombmaker possessed a firearm, homemade ammunition, and a karambit knife, all of which were confiscated by the police after one of his improvised explosive devices exploded in the corridor of the Taman Pandan flats located in Sungai Puyu, where the suspect resides.
The North Seberang Prai OCPD Assistant Commissioner, Mohd Asri Shafie, stated that the police received a call from a member of the public around 1 pm on Sunday alerting them about the explosion. According to a witness, the explosion took place on the upper floor of the four-story flat in front of a unit at precisely 12:56 pm on that day.
As a response, the police dispatched the bomb squad, forensic team, and K9 units from the state and district police headquarters to the scene. “Our bomb specialist identified the explosive device as an improvised explosive device (IED). However, only a portion of the IED detonated, and we are currently investigating how it happened,” said ACP Mohd Asri in a statement.
In light of the incident, the authorities arrested the man and a 37-year-old foreign woman near the flat at approximately 8:30 pm on the same day. During the interrogation of the man, the police discovered another homemade bomb, a pistol, homemade ammunition, and a karambit knife. These items were found in the bag of the female suspect.
Furthermore, the male suspect confessed that he learned bomb-making techniques from the internet and purchased the necessary materials online. Both suspects, believed to be factory workers with no criminal history, tested negative for drugs. They have been remanded until October 12. The case has been classified under Section 6 of the Explosives Act 1957, Section 8 of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958, as well as Section 8 of the Weapons Act 1960.
Visit by The Star to the Taman Pandan flat revealed that the unit, which is rented by both suspects, was locked. Some residents of the flat were quite surprised to learn that a suspected bombmaker was living among them. A resident named Tan Seong Beng mentioned that both suspects were apprehended by the police after he and a few other neighbors reported the explosion to the authorities. Tan added that the suspects had been residing in the flat for around four years and kept mostly to themselves.
Recalling the incident, Tan stated that he heard a loud explosion just a few meters away from his unit around 12:50 pm on Sunday. He further explained that upon coming out of his house, he noticed debris from a package near his residence. Fortunately, the explosion did not occur when they had passed through the corridor earlier that day, which is used by residents on a daily basis. Tan mentioned that he lives in the flat with his wife and six-year-old son. He also revealed that prior to the explosion, he had noticed a plastic package in the corridor near his unit but did not suspect any danger and ignored it.
Another resident, who requested anonymity, mentioned that on the day of the incident, they saw white smoke emanating from the suspects’ unit early in the morning. When asked about it, the man informed them that he was simply barbecuing.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
