Police arrest suspect who allegedly vandalized Komagata Maru memorial in Vancouver

Police saya suspect has been arrested and charged after allegedly vandalizing aKomagata Marumemorial in Vancouver last summer.

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) saidYuniar Kurniawanwasfound in the city's Downtown Eastside on Monday and taken into custody after a provincial warrant was issued in January for mischief charges.

Kurniawan, whose age in January was 39, is accused of defacing the memorial with white paint in August 2021.

Located in Vancouver's Coal Harbour neighbourhood,the memorial acknowledgesa racist chapter in Canada's history. When it was vandalized,questions were raisedabout whetherit was an intentional hate crime.

Nearly 400 South Asian immigrants were aboard the Komagata Maru, anchored just off Coal Harbour in 1914, when it was turned away from Canada due to exclusion laws.

Raj Singh Toor, spokesperson for theDescendants of the Komagata Maru Society, issued a statement Wednesday following news of the arrest, applauding police for taking the investigation seriously and investing the time and effort into identifying a suspect.

"For the last century, our families have had to live with the experience of being rejected from Canada because of our race, and it is memorials such as these that help us deal with the pain and damage of racism," Toor said.

"When these memorials are defaced, the painful memories of intolerance and racism come back."

VPD launched an investigation on Aug.22, after people began posting pictures on social media showing white paint, hand printsand graffiti plastered on the memorial, which includes the names of the ship'soccupants. The white hand prints were coveringthosenames.

"This crime reverberated throughout the community because of what this memorial reveals about our past and the steps we have taken to become a more inclusive community," saidSgt. Steve Addison in January when the warrant was issued forKurniawan's arrest.

Police said investigators wereable to gather important evidence from the scene and were able toidentify Kurniawan after people began discussing the crime on social media.