Store attacked for selling ‘Allah’ socks — RT World News
A Molotov cocktail was thrown at KK Supermart, one of Malaysia's major supermarket chains, in the eastern city of the country on Saturday, according to police. The company's senior executives were accused of hurting religious feelings, after its stores sold socks printed with the word God.
Two-thirds of the country's 34 million people are Malaysian Muslims, and in Islam linking one's feet to God is considered highly offensive. Pictures of controversial socks have generated widespread anger on the Internet over the past weeks, also coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan.
KK Super Mart, Malaysia's second-largest supermarket chain, reportedly found 14 pairs of socks with the word “Allah” printed on them, at three of its 881 outlet locations.
The attack occurred on Saturday at one of its stores in Kuantan. Police said that the incendiary device caused a small fire at the entrance, and no one was hurt, according to Reuters. The city's police chief, Wan Muhammad Zahari Wan Bosso, told the news agency that he believed the attack may be related to the socks. “But we're still investigating.”
Another attack occurred last Tuesday, when a bottle filled with gasoline was thrown at a KK Supermart store in Perak state, 100 kilometers north of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, according to the official Bernama agency. Local newspaper China Press reported that the device did not explode and there were no casualties.
Last Tuesday, the company's CEO, Chai Kee Kan, who is of Chinese descent, and his wife, Lou Siew Mui, the company's director, were indicted on the charges. “Intentionally hurting… religious feelings.” Three representatives of supplier Xin Jian Chang were also charged. All have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they may face up to a year in prison and a fine, or they may only receive a fine. The hearing is scheduled to take place at the end of April.
KK Super Mart apologized for the incident, saying it was taking care of the matter “seriously” It stopped selling the product and filed a lawsuit against the supplier. The supplier also apologized, saying: “Problematic socks” It was inside a stack of thousands of pairs of different designs, which had been ordered from a China-based company.
According to the Star newspaper, KK Super Mart displayed an apology note in its stores across the country.
In a rare royal rebuke, Malaysia's new king, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, called for “strict” action against those found guilty. “Whether this incident was intentional or unintentional, and whether the socks were imported or produced in local factories.”
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