SMK Kuching High bomb scare: Students evacuated, massive police presence conducting security flushing

Massive police presence at SMK Kuching High on Nov 22, 2023.

By Karen Bong and Wilfred Pilo

KUCHING, Nov 22: Students and staff at SMK Kuching High were immediately evacuated after the school received a bomb attack threat at 3pm today with the road leading to the school now cordoned off and a huge police presence on site to conduct a thorough security flushing which is still ongoing.

According to viral posts uploaded on social media about an hour ago, the school management immediately took action to contact the police, despite uncertainties about the validity of the emailed threat received at 11.30am.

Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng disclosed there is a substantial police presence at the school now to sweep the entire premises in response to the said bomb threat allegedly scheduled for 3pm and 4pm.

“Classes were immediately halted, leading to the release of most students and staff. Parents are present to pick up their children, while only the school’s principal and a few essential staff members remain until the police complete their sweeping and investigation,” he told DayakDaily when contacted today.

The road to SMK Kuching High was cordoned off after a bomb scare on Nov 22, 2023.

Wee personally visited the school to assess the situation and strongly condemned such acts that create panic not only within the school but throughout the Kuching community.

He emphasised that schools should be secure places for children to study and criticised the uncalled-for nature of the threat.

“This is uncalled for as such threat, even though a hoax, should not be targeted at schools which should be a safe place or sanctuary for children to study,” he said.

Wee called on relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in schools across Malaysia.

Wee (right) at SMK Kuching High to get a better understanding of the bomb threat situation on Nov 22, 2023.

He highlighted the long-lasting impact of such actions, causing lingering anxiety and concerns about school safety within the community.

“Such action not only cause panic for a day but the entire community, especially students and parents, would be anxious about the safety of school even tomorrow and days later,” he said.

Kuching District Police Chief ACP Ahsmon Bajah said a statement will be issued later.

Yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain confirmed receiving police reports on false bomb threats at 19 international schools nationwide, including seven in Selangor and five in Kuala Lumpur.

In a statement, he said the bomb scares were all received via an email sent out by two email addresses newly created under ‘Taktstorer’ and ‘Takstorer’ via the Beeble.com email service provider.

He explained that the email address ‘Taktstorer’ which means troublemaker/peace disruptor in German has never been used to send out any emails prior to this. The original text in the bomb scare email was written in English and later translated to Bahasa Malaysia using a language translation app. — DayakDaily