Malaysian police hunt for football hooligans after attack on Singapore fans

The police are looking to arrest people involved in a brawl that caused damage to a train after Malaysia was eliminated from a tournament

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Fans watch a match between Kedah Darul Aman and Polis DiRaja Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in May. A spate of attacks against footballers in Malaysia has shocked the country. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:01pm, 23 Dec 2024

Malaysia’s police are searching for up to 30 people believed to have been involved in a brawl between supporters of the Malaysian and Singaporean national football teams after a match last week, which resulted in damage to a train at an LRT stop in Kuala Lumpur.

Footage of the incident went viral on Saturday after a group of people believed to be supporters of Malaysia’s national team attacked the train at the Bandar Tasek Selatan station, just a few stops from the Bukit Jalil stadium where the match was held the previous night.

Police on Sunday said they have identified the suspects believed to have been involved in the brawl through CCTV footage from LRT stations, trains and the stadium.

“We have identified the suspects and will be arresting and interrogating them in the next couple of days,” Cheras police chief Aidil Bolhassan was quoted as saying by local news portal Scoop. “It took some time due to the large crowd that attended the game.”

Police are investigating the case for rioting and committing public mischief, Aidil said.

While the incident caused some damage to the train no injuries were reported.