Death of Malay firefighter in temple riots ruled to be ‘criminal act’, risks heightening tensions

The death last year of a Malaysian firefighter after he responded to violent clashes over the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple was “a criminal act by two or more persons unknown”, the Coroner’s Court ruled on Friday.Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, 24, was injured during riots in November and taken to hospital, where he died three weeks later. The death of the Malay firefighter heightened tensions around race relations in multiracial Malaysia and Friday’s finding has the potential to further…