Malaysia police arrest 7 teens linked to deadly fire

Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh says the seven arrested boys lit Thursday’s fire because they had been mocked by students at the school.

Relative cry during a mass funeral for victims of a school fire outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday. Officials said the private Islamic boarding school was operating without a fire safety permit and license, and that a dividing wall was illegally built on the top floor that blocked the victims from a second exit.

The police chief in Malaysia’s capital says authorities have arrested seven teenagers suspected of intentionally starting a deadly blaze an Islamic boarding school that killed 23 people.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh says the seven arrested boys lit Thursday’s fire because they had been mocked by students at the school.

Mr. Singh said in a press conference late Saturday that the boys aged 11 to 18 had also tested positive for drugs.

The blaze at a three-story “tahfiz” school, where Muslim boys study and memorize the Koran, blocked the lone exit to the dormitory, trapping students behind barred windows.