Abdullah Abu Bakar, the brother of inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, did not violate any law when taking part in a protest outside a church in Petaling Jaya on April 19.

This was based on the preliminary findings from police investigations, reported Sin Chew Daily , quoting Petaling Jaya district police chief Azmi Abu Kassim.

"Based on the current investigation outcome, Abdullah did not violate any law during the protest.

“The police will only decide upon completing its investigations (today) whether the protest was illegal,” Azmi was quoted as saying.

The investigation findings would then be submitted to the deputy public prosecutor to decide whether to press charges.

Reporter and pastor quizzed

Although Azmi did not name the number of people that have been questioned over the protest, he revealed that a reporter and a pastor were quizzed.

The protest took place on April 19 in front of a shoplot that was being used as a church, and it was conducting Sunday service at the time.

There were reportedly 50 protestors at the time to demand the removal of a cross on the building, which the church complied with within hours.

The incident was seen as an infringement in the freedom of religion and sparked national outcry, including condemnations from civil society groups and both sides of the political divide.

Abdullah, who is also the Taman Lindungan Jaya Umno branch chief, had previously defended his presence at the protest, claiming that he was there to mediate the conflict between the church and the protestors.

“They were demanding that the church cease operations completely, but we managed to convince them to be satisfied with the church taking down the cross symbol […]

“They came to us and as the elders in the community, we told them we would help resolve the issue as we don't want matters to get out of hand,” he told reporters a day after the protest.

He was subsequently questioned by the police for four hours on April 22.