Tombstones for 11 graves at the Mukim Tebrau Muslim Cemetery in Pandan, Johor, have been stolen, believed to be for resale.
Recently, a report by BERNAMA revealed that 11 graves at the Mukim Tebrau Muslim Cemetery in Taman Istimewa, Pandan, were vandalised for their tombstones.
A check at the cemetery showed that most of the stolen grave markers were river stone headstones that cost more than RM450 a set and is believed to have been stolen for resale.
Grave digger Muhammad Izzul Hafiq Ramlan shared that 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.
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 and that a 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 explained when met by reporters at the cemetery.
Meanwhile, he also said that 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.
South Johor Baru police chief Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat said that 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.
We hope that the authorities get to the bottom of the matter. Stay tuned for more updates.
