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Police investigating attack on 3 Madrasah students: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE — The police are investigating a case of physical attacks carried out against three Madrasah students in a public place, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam on Friday (April 1).

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam. TODAY file photo

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — The police are investigating a case of physical attacks carried out against three Madrasah students in a public place, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam on Friday (April 1).

Posting about the incident on his Facebook page at around 11.30pm, the minister said the motives for the attack are not clear at this point but he has asked the police to “get to the bottom of it and ensure that justice is done”.

The minister did not name the madrasah or the location of the attack but a Facebook post by a user named Nisha Mohd Hussein, purportedly a teacher from Madrasah Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiah, said “at about 7.20am at Paya Lebar MRT, our students ... (were) physically abused by a stranger”.

She also described the victims’ description of the assailant, adding that one student was kicked on the left thigh, another hit by a heavy item contained in a plastic bag, and the last was “hit in the same manner on one of her eyes”.

Saying that a police report has been lodged, the user appealed for eyewitnesses to contact the school so that evidence can be gathered “to help ensure our students’ and your children’s safety”.

In response to media queries, the police said they received a call at about 7.33am requesting for assistance along Lorong 39 Geylang. Upon their arrival, it was established that a case of Voluntarily Causing Hurt was reported.

On the madrasah’s Facebook page, a post said the affected students have been counselled.

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) also issued a statement on the incident on Saturday (April 2). "It is important for us to stay calm and let justice take its course," said MUIS. "In the mean time, let us extend our prayers to the affected students so that they may recover quickly from this incident."

The attack came two days after Mr Shanmugam reiterated a caution against letting Islamophobia develop here, after his visit to the Singapore Islamic Hub where he engaged in a dialogue with 60 students from the six madrasahs here. It was the second time in three months he spoke about Islamophobia.

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