JOHOR BARU: Eleven graves at the Mukim Tebrau Muslim Cemetery in Taman Istimewa, Pandan, here, were vandalised for their tombstones, believed stolen for resale.
A check at the cemetery this morning showed that most of the stolen grave markers were river stone headstones that cost more than RM450 a set.
Grave digger Muhammad Izzul Hafiq Ramlan, 29, said visitors confronted him about the missing tombstones when visiting the graves of their relatives on Aidilfitri morning last week before the incident went viral on Facebook yesterday.
He said the cemetery on waqf (public) land was not locked at the public's request, to make it easier for the next-of-kin to visit, thus exposing it to intrusion.
He said lack of manpower also meant that there was no one looking after the area at night.
"We suspect this was carried at night, (and) most of the stolen tombstones were river stones in sets of nine because they can be resold and the name of the deceased can be discarded," he said when met at the cemetery today.
He said white headstones worth RM350 per set were also stolen, and this was the first such incident happened since the cemetery was opened in the early 90s.
Meanwhile, South Johor Baru police chief Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat said police have yet to receive any report regarding vandalism or theft at the cemetery.
He advised the public, especially the next-of-kin, to lodge a police report to facilitate investigation.– BERNAMA