Malaysian police set up special unit to investigate assault on Lankan envoy

Selangor police have set up a special investigation team to probe Sunday's assault on Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Malaysia Ibrahim Sahib Ansar at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), New Straits Times reported.

Selangor police chief Datuk Abdul Samah Mat said they have also acquired a three-day remand order against five suspects arrested in connection with the incident.

The men, aged between 27 and 56, and four others still at large, are being investigated under Section 147 of the Penal Code for rioting.

"Following the incident, police have set up a special investigation team and between 5pm Sunday and 7am yesterday (Monday), they have managed to trace and arrest five suspects. They are being remanded for three days until tomorrow (Wednesday).

"Three of them were detained in Sungai Siput, Perak, while two others were nabbed in Dengkil and Rawang (Selangor).

"A manhunt is ongoing for four others whom police have identified," he told reporters at the district police headquarters, here today.

Abdul Samah was attending the state police monthly assembly.

He said police are also looking into the backgrounds of individuals and organisations who lodged 47 reports against former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit in Malaysia the report said..

The probe is to, among others, determine if there were any affiliations between the complainants and the Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organisation.

Abdul Samah said initial investigations revealed that the attack on Ibrahim was linked to the protests against Rajapaksa's visit.

When asked on why there were no security details assigned to provide protection to the envoy at KLIA, he said police was not informed of Ibrahim's plan to send a Sri Lankan minister to the airport.