Penang’s Deputy Chief Minister II, P. Ramasamy, said the Muthu Mariamman temple authorities would consider taking such security measures after a police investigation was completed.

“The attack is believed to be a hate crime as nothing was stolen from the temple,” he said on Friday while on a visit with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Police have taken statements from temple workers but were unable to determine why the statues of Lord Muruga and Goddess Amman had been removed from their pedestals and smashed on the ground.

“The case will be investigated under Section 295 of the Penal Code for defiling a place of worship,” central Seberang Prai OCPD Rusli Mohd Noor was quoted as saying.

The temple was built on a plot of land donated by the late N.T.S. Arumugam Pillai, a prominent Penang businessman and philanthropist.

The state government has given the temple a RM10,000 grant for the repair of the broken statues.

SEE ALSO: Penang sends letter to IGP over temple desecration