A place of worship in the Tangkak district was reportedly broken into in the early hours of Tuesday, resulting in the loss of more than RM1,000 in public donations. The incident took place at Wen Lin Wang Jin Long Tang at around 5am, involving three individuals who allegedly entered the temple and stole cash from its donation box.
According to the CCTV footage, the three individuals arrived together in a car. All were dressed in long-sleeved attire and trousers, wore caps, and concealed their faces with masks. One suspects was first seen attempting to force open the temple’s main entrance before moving to the rear, where access was eventually gained.
Donation box forcibly opened
The temple’s chairman, Mr Lau Bee Heng, said temple committee members later noticed damage to the door locks and discovered that the donation box had been forcibly opened. Most of the cash inside was missing, with only a small amount of coins and notes left behind.
Image credit: Guang Ming Daily
Video recordings indicated that two of the suspects entered the temple with one carrying a bag, while the third remained outside, believed to be keeping watch. Once inside, the suspects went directly to the donation box, damaging both locks before removing the cash.
Security measures to be strengthened
“The suspects appeared to be familiar with the temple’s layout and the location of the donation box, believing they may have been observed in advance,” Mr Lau said.
Image credit: Guang Ming Daily
He added that donations are usually collected only after major religious events, and the temple had received over RM3,000 in offerings during the first half of the year. As such, the losses from this incident are estimated to exceed RM1,000.
Established around 40 years ago, the temple had not previously experienced a similar theft. Following the incident, the management committee plans to install stronger locks and enhance security measures to reduce the risk of future occurrences.
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