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Challenge Syariah law: Mosque break-ins rises BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Brunei - New 2 Borneo

Challenge Syariah law: Mosque break-ins rises

Posted: 07 Jan 2014 05:52 PM PST

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: A mosque in Kg Kapok was broken into yesterday; making it the twelfth reported case of mosque theft in less than ten days recorded by the Police, Brudirect reported.

According to a spokesperson from Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), the safety boxes were forced opened with some type of objects before making away with donation funds for orphans. The spokesperson, who chose to remain anonymous, said that the string of mosque break-ins is somewhat related to one another and the perpetrators may belong to a syndicate.

The imam of Kg Kapok mosque Hj Shahbirin Hj Md Noor first discovered the incident when he arrived at the place of worship around 4.30am. Mosque officer's room was ransacked and the room's safety box was also opened although there was no money inside the safe.

Hj Shahbirin added that the gates were not locked but the thief or thieves broke into the mosque by opening the side door that had been locked for quite some times. From his observation, the imam suggested that thieves might be using saws to dismantle the safety boxes, indicating that they were armed and extremely dangerous.

Exasperated by the incident, Imam Hj Shahbirin theorized that the thieves wanted to challenge the implementation of Syariah laws in the Sultanate. However, the imam believed those responsible for the string of mosque break-ins will not get away with their crimes.

Hj Shahbirin suggested some ideas on how to improve and tighten the security of a mosque, such as installing CCTVs that were directly connected to mosque officials' cellphones, or alarm systems that were wired to speakers that would alert the entire neighborhood in case a mosque was broken into.

Only four out of twelve mosques were installed with security cameras.

He also mentioned the idea of hiring security personnel to guard mosques around the Sultanate but the plan was hindered due to budget constraints.

In the meantime, RBPF heightened its patrolling routine around mosques especially those located within remote areas of villages.

Muslims revere mosques as a sacred place of worship. Criminals on the other hand did not seem to exclude the symbols of Islamic faith from their to-do lists.

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