SERDANG - Eight people were injured after a hand grenade was hurled into a pub at a mall in Puchong, Selangor, early Tuesday (June 28) morning, but police said the incident was not an act of terror.
Selangor deputy CPO Deputy Comm Datuk Abd Rahim Jaafar said the incident occurred at about 2.15am at IOI Boulevard as patrons at the pub were watching a Euro 2016 football match between Spain and Italy, The Star reported.
Four men and four women, including a female Chinese national, were sent to Hospital Serdang and Hospital Sunway for treatment, the report said.
Police were investigating the attack as a case of attempted murder, Rahim was quoted as saying, adding that it had been ruled out as a terrorism incident.
Investigators were looking into whether the attack was motivated by business rivalry, vengeance, or if the suspects were targeting specific individuals at the nightspot, reports said.
Two of the people injured were married couple S. Jaiseelan and Bavani, both 32, reported Bernama.
Mr Jaiseelan had taken his wife Bavani to the pub for a surprise wedding anniversary celebration, said his younger brother S.Kavilan, the report said.
Mr Kavilan said his brother had been admitted to the High Dependency Unit of the hospital for serious injuries on the neck and leg, while Bavani, who fractured her wrist, would undergo surgery later on Tuesday.
"I was actually with them for their wedding anniversary celebration, but left early, about thirty minutes before the explosion," he told Bernama at the scene.
"My brother wanted to surprise his wife with the wedding anniversary celebration and chose this pub because Bavani had been wanting to come here for a long time. So last night was the first time the couple was here."
Another victim, but who declined to be identified, said he was at the premises with four friends and two of them sustained minor injuries in the explosion. "The explosion left me deaf for a few hours," he told Bernama.
A club employee, who declined to be named, told the New Straits Times two men were seen hurling an object towards the crowd before an explosion occurred in the open-air terrace of the the pub. Another staff member said more than 20 patrons were at the pub when the attack occurred.
A security guard working at the area said he saw smoke billowing from the nightspot after the explosion. He said he saw three people injured by shards of broken glass.
