KULIM - A man and a woman, have been remanded for seven days from Oct 21 to 27 to assist investigations into a firecracker explosion during a Deepavali celebration in Paya Besar, Lunas near here last Sunday.
Magistrate Nur Hamizah Mat Shah issued the remand order against the 34-year-old male suspect and the 23-year-old female suspect.
Kulim District Police Chief Supt Zulkifli Azizan said both suspects are being investigated under Section 8 of the Explosives Act 1958 and Section 326 of the Penal Code.
Earlier media reports stated that 22 individuals were injured in the incident, including a man who sustained severe head injuries with a fractured skull and is currently unconscious at Penang Hospital.
Zulkifli said initial investigations revealed that the male suspect, who was intoxicated, had purchased RM200 worth of coconut-type firecrackers from a nearby stall before placing them into a roadside cylinder.
"The firecrackers were believed to have been inserted upside down by the male suspect, causing an explosion underneath after being lit by his companion, the female suspect,” he said. - BERNAMA