Police explode bomb at petrol kiosk in Bukit Mertajam

Police exploded a black package believed to contain a hand grenade that was found in the men's toilet at a petrol kiosk in Jalan Kulim, here just after midnight last night.

The bomb was detonated by the Bomb Disposal Unit of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) with the help of the fire and rescue team about 12.05am this morning, about 10 meters away from the toilet.

Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) district police chief, ACP Rusli Mohd Noor said the bomb was detonated after an inspection was carried out by the Fire and Rescue squad.

"Police took into account the surrounding areas at the petrol kiosk before detonating the bomb," he said at the scene of the incident.

The black package believed to contain the grenade was found by a member of the public who was using the toilet at about 4.30pm yesterday.

Following the discovery of the bomb, police cordoned off the area and moved out several residents staying near the petrol kiosk since 7pm last night to avoid any undesired incident.

Several fire engines and Hazmat (harzadous materials) vehicles were also rushed to the area.

Rusli said business operations at the petrol kiosk were suspended since the grenade was found.

He said police would study closely the CCTV installed at the petrol kiosk to trace the people responsible for placing the bomb in the toilet.

"The motive for the incident was still being studied and police would call up the owner and workers of the petrol station to determine the motive from all aspects.

"It is said that the owner of the petrol kiosk did not receive any form of threat earlier," he said.

He said further investigations were still ongoing and requested cooperation from members of the public who had any information on the incident by contacting the nearest police station to help in the case.

Meanwhile, state Fire and Rescue Department director Azmi Tamat, who was present at the scene, said the department had carried out several checks and tests before making the decision to detonate the bomb.

"We were afraid that the explosion would cause a fire which would spread to the petrol pump, but Alhamdulillah (with the grace of Allah) everything was under control. The condition at the petrol kiosk is now safe," he added.