Ghandy Armansyah, Jakarta – Police on Thursday arrested a man suspected of attempting to set fire to a mosque in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, based on information provided by residents who had reviewed security camera footage.

The Jami Al Falah Mosque on Sunter Kemayoran Street was set ablaze on Wednesday evening, and a man was captured on camera pouring a liquid on the mosque carpets and igniting them.

After inspecting the security camera footage inside the building, mosque caretakers and residents identified a 21-year-old man residing at a nearby boarding house with his blind mother.

The man closely resembled the arsonist in the video, wearing the same cap and sandals as seen in the footage.

Police were summoned, and the situation became tense as angry residents nearly resorted to violent measures while the suspect, identified as SMY, was escorted from the house.

Residents reported that Wednesday's fire marked the third attempted arson attack on the mosque in the last two months.

The suspect, who has lived in the neighborhood for only two months, will undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine his mental fitness for legal responsibility, according to Tanjung Priok Police Chief Nazirwan.

"From our initial assessment, he seemed mentally capable of explaining in detail the chronology of what he did," the officer said. "We are still investigating whether he is the same person who carried out two previous arson attacks on the mosque."

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/man-arrested-for-arson-attack-on-jakarta-mosqu