Health Ministry deputy director-general Dr S Jeyaindran said his ministry was not aware the 29-year-old, who was an intern at a government hospital in Ipoh, had any mental issues.

“I am not sure where they obtained the information from but the ministry is not aware of it,” he was reported as saying in the Malay Mail.

He said this when responding to claims by Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar and Perak health committee chairman Dr Mah Hang Soon that the suspect was suffering from a mental disorder.

According to Jeyaindran, the suspect joined the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital on April 11 as an intern houseman but resigned just 11 days later – two days before he walked into a Hindu temple and smashed the statues of several deities.

He said an investigation would be carried out to see why the suspect resigned so suddenly from the hospital.

In the incident, the suspect entered a temple in Jalan Raja Asman Shah in Ipoh on Sunday and smashed several idols, before fleeing the scene. He however, was involved in a car crash soon after and was arrested at the scene of the accident. He is currently undergoing mental evaluation at Hospital Bahagia in Tanjung Rambutan.