A 34-year-old suspect who had allegedly desecrated holy statues in the St Anne's Church in Bukit Mertajam is purportedly a "mentally ill" person who needs hospitalisation, said Seberang Perai City councillor David Marshel.

David said the family of the suspect approached him after reading his Facebook post about the incident last night.

He said the suspect's wife, a 30-year-old manager, lodged a police report about her husband's behaviour in Petaling Jaya at 9.20pm last night, stating that the suspect needed urgent psychiatric treatment.