KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — A man suspected of being a thief who broke into a surau in Johor was bathed by villagers in the area where the dead are washed before he was handed over to the police, Sinar Harian reported.

Seri Alam police chief Superintendent Ismail Dollah said the 26-year-old suspect, who had broken into Surau At-Taqwa at Kampung Mulia, in Sungai Tiram, was handed over to the police patrol at about 10am.

“As soon as [the police] arrived at the location, the suspect was handed over along with his motorcycle.

“Based on the surau’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) the suspect had attempted to break in to steal from the petty cash but failed,” he told the Malay daily.

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Ismail said the suspect was found to have a criminal record for stealing and will be brought to court to be remanded and investigated under Section 380/511 of the Penal Code.

The bathing of the suspect was shared on social media and attracted public attention.

When contacted by the Malay daily, the Surau At-Taqwa deputy chairman Ramle Ahmat said the action was not to embarrass any individual but to give awareness and serve as a lesson to the culprit and others.

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*Editor's note: An earlier version of this article contained an error which has since been corrected.