On the attack of two sisters at the Church of Visitation: Father John Gnanapiragasam

The parishioners of the Visitation, the Infant Jesus Sisters and the families of Sister Juliana Lim and Sister Marie Rose Teng, are deeply saddened by the tragic incident.

May 18, 2014

The tragic incident

The parishioners of the Visitation, the Infant Jesus Sisters and the families of Sister Juliana Lim and Sister Marie Rose Teng, are deeply saddened by the tragic incident.

We share their anxiety and pain caused by this unfortunate event.

The circumstances of the incident, having occurred on church premises and involving two Roman Catholic sisters, are indeed disheartening.

At press time, we are not aware of any eyewitnesses. Contrary to numerous initial reports, unwarranted speculations and biased interpretations, two of our 13 CCTV cameras did capture part of the incident.

Based on our CCTV recording, at 6.05am, a passing motorcyclist on seeing potential victims made a U-turn and rode into Gate 2, a minute after the sisters' car had entered.

The assailant wore a crash helmet and with a lighted torch in hand ran after the two sisters who were dressed in everyday clothes.

The assailant then ran towards his motorcycle and took off at 6.07am.

The sisters were found lying on the ground when the main door of the church opened at about the same time.

An ambulance from the Tunku Jaafar Hospital arrived within minutes to take the sisters to hospital. Our thanks and appreciation to the hospital staff who are giving the sisters the best medical and surgical care.

Social media and the press

Unfortunately, both social media and the press have sensationalised and politicised this tragic incident.

Given the current tensed situation in the country, any incident like this is unfortunately and immediately seen in relation to racial sentiments and religious intolerance.

We appreciate the care and concern expressed by so many citizens and netizens, including our prime minister as well as our police chief.

We want to reiterate that as Christians and in solidarity with all true Malaysians, we will continue to believe, pray and promote genuine racial integration and true religious harmony in Malaysia.

The necessary learning

This isolated incident and diverse reactions and differing responses are testimony that crime, be it hate or theft crime is a deplorable occurrence in our society.

All parties concerned must be more creative and proactive in our crime vigilance and security enforcement.

Besides the daily early morning Masses, the Church of Visitation sees about 5,000 people – children, youth, adults and the elderly for the 5 Sunday Masses, from 6.30am to 1pm in various languages.

There have been numerous incidents of car break-ins within church premises and surroundings, and snatch thefts that have been reported to the police.

We hope and pray that a police “pondok” will be set up on Sundays in front of the church on Jalan Yam Tuan and daily police patrol in the morning will be carried out.

Our request and plea

We are grateful for the care and concern, support and prayers shown by people of all races and religions at this time.

Our request is that privacy is respected and sensitivity be shown to both the sisters and families concerned.

We strongly urge that no photographs be taken on site. It will be helpful if visits to the sisters are restricted. – May 16, 2014.

* Father John Gnanapiragasam is the parish priest at the Church of Visitation.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.