The KK Tremendous Mart chain apologised after photographs of the socks on sale triggered widespread anger amongst Muslims.
A comfort retailer chain in Malaysia that triggered outrage for promoting socks with the phrase “Allah” has been hit with a Molotov cocktail, police mentioned.
The assault on Saturday got here days after the KK Tremendous Mart chain’s high executives had been charged for hurting non secular emotions as a result of it bought the socks.
Wan Mohamad Zahari Wan Busu, the police chief in Kuantan metropolis in Malaysia’s east, mentioned the explosive system triggered a small fireplace on the entrance of the shop’s department there, however no accidents had been reported.
The assault was “nonetheless beneath investigation, however we’re not denying that it could be associated to the incident involving stockings with the phrase ‘Allah’”, he instructed the AFP information company.
Photos of the socks unfold on social media this month, prompting public anger amongst some Muslims who regarded them as insulting, particularly as a result of they went up on the market throughout the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
About two-thirds of the 34 million inhabitants is Malay Muslim, with massive minorities of ethnic Chinese language and other people of Indian origin additionally practising Islam.
On Tuesday, a petroleum bomb was thrown right into a KK Tremendous Mart outlet in Perak state, the Reuters information company reported.
The chain’s founder Chai Kee Kan and his spouse Loh Siew Mui, an organization director, had been on Tuesday formally charged with “intentionally intending to harm … non secular emotions”. Three representatives from KK Tremendous Mart’s provider, Xin Jian Chang, had been additionally charged.
All of the defendants pleaded not responsible. The chain’s executives had been freed on bail, with a listening to set for April 29. If convicted, they may resist a 12 months in jail, a advantageous, or each.
Malaysia’s second-largest mini-market chain has beforehand apologised for the socks and mentioned it had taken speedy motion to cease their sale. It additionally sued the provider of the socks, alleging sabotage and harm to its model popularity.
The provider mentioned the “problematic socks had been half of a bigger cargo of 18,800 pairs ordered” from an organization primarily based in China.