Rafiq Sadiq

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Rafiq Sadiq
Born
Rafiq bin Sadiq

(1986-05-22)May 22, 1986
DiedJune 13, 2019(2019-06-13) (aged 33)
Cause of deathKilled in an altercation with authorities
CitizenshipMalaysian
OccupationPoliceman
Known forAttempted assassination plot of Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom

Rafiq bin Sadiq was a former Malaysian policeman known for his unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the British head of state, Queen Alexandra during her inaugural state visit to Malaysia on June 2019.

Born in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Rafiq spent much of his early life and later his adulthood in the capital, during which he reportedly landed a job as a cashier at a shopping mall, also located in Kuala Lumpur, where he worked for roughly six years long, before eventually quitting his job there in favour of a new one as a police officer as part of the Royal Malaysia Police, which he began serving since 2015. By the time of the incident, Rafiq had already reached the rank of Superintendent of Police.

On June 2019, amidst a controversial state visit held by Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom to his home country, Malaysia, Rafiq, whom had then not been assigned with any duties as part of the extensive security detail for the visiting British queen, broadcasted himself live on the social media site, Instagram, through which he openly announced his intention to assassinate the visiting British monarch. However, due to the open and public nature of his supposed assassination plot, Rafiq's plan soon caught the attention of authorities, whom identified his vehicle and promptly had him arrested. A brief altercation promptly ensued, resulting in Rafiq's own death. Meanwhile, he was caught with his personal Glock sidearm and an illegally purchased Carbon 15 firearm. Then, due to the sensitive nature of his arrest, Rafiq's capture and subsequent death by police were initially kept secret from the public, but several media outlets soon begin to report on the incident, thereby leading to widespread publicity surrounding the incident.

Following his death, as per the Islamic tradition, Rafiq was buried at an Islamic cemetery in Selangor.

Early Life

A Kuala Lumpur native, Rafiq was born into a fairly stable middle-class Malay Muslim family. His father, Sadiq bin Muhammad Kamal was a government employee, while his mother, Sharifah binti Aziz was a self-employed businesswoman who reportedly made a living selling traditional Malay foods.

After completing both his primary and secondary education, Rafiq opted to further pursue his studies by enroling at the University of Malaya, also located in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. Then, after roughly two years long, Rafiq eventually graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in religious studies. According to his educators, Rafiq appeared to be a fairly normal student who showed no signs of concerns on any occasions.

Career

With a bachelor's degree in religious studies, Rafiq initially appeared poised to become a religious teacher or the sort. However, he ultimately settled for a career as a cashier at a prominent shopping mall at the Kuala Lumpur City Center, where he worked for roughly six years long.

In 2012, Rafiq decided to quit his longtime job as a cashier, having instead decided to pursue an entirely new career, this time as a policeman. Soon enough, beginning in that same year, under the banner of the Royal Malaysia Police, Rafiq would go on to loyally serve as a police officer, with most of his coworkers interviewed by authorities in the wake of his arrest later describing Rafiq's as a "promising" and an "overall stand-up officer".

Assassination Plot

On June 2019, Rafiq, by then already a Superintendent of Police himself, had been immediately made aware of the impending state visit of the British monarch, Queen Alexandra to his home country, Malaysia. Then, according to his family members, Rafiq, soon after learning that the British monarch is planning to hold a state visit to the country, was said to have then immediately phoned his parents in a "massive fit of rage", with his father later recounting that the enraged Rafiq often exclaimed, "This cannot happen!".

Meanwhile, according to his credit card records uncovered by police, it was discovered that just a few days prior to the state visit, Rafiq had illegally purchased a Carbon 15 firearm from an unlawful source, despite already owning a standard-issued Glock handgun as a police officer himself.

Eventually, just a couple of days into the Queen's state visit to Malaysia, Rafiq, whom had not been among the many police officers tasked with ensuring the safety of the British monarch amidst a mostly hostile crowd, would finally begin his long-awaited plot to assassinate the British monarch, whose Jewish heritage was reportedly the underlying motivation for his attempt to assassinate the former. Soon enough, on June 13th 2019, at approximately 10:35 A.M., Rafiq publicly announced in a live stream video on the popular social media site, Instagram, that his assassination plot had officially begun, with the aforementioned live stream then showing Rafiq getting into his Proton Wira automobile and carrying both his Glock and Carbon 15 firearms. Meanwhile, at around this time, it was believed that Queen Alexandra herself was then visiting the historic Sultan Abdul Samad Building in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, where she was accompanied by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah of Pahang.

However, after roughly fifteen minutes into his drive towards his intended destination, that being the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Rafiq was stopped in his tracks by a group of police officers believed to have been ordered by the Inspector-General of Police, Abdul Hamid Bador, whom was said to have been made aware of Rafiq's live stream just a few minutes after it began, and therefore, took the decision to immediately have Rafiq stopped before he could carry out his plot. Then, after what initially appeared to be a peaceful and nonviolent arrest by authorities, the situation promptly escalated when Rafiq, upon being asked to exit his vehicle so as to allow a full-on inspection by authorities, promptly responded by drawing out his Glock handgun towards one of the police officers present, before being shot by another after refusing to "stand down". Consequently, one of the officers present on the scene fired a single bullet into Rafiq's chest, which promptly killed him.

In the days that followed, Rafiq's death was publicly mourned by a number of local Malaysian politicians, including Malaysian Islamic Party president, Abdul Hadi Awang, whom in a speech to supporters, lauded Rafiq as a "martyr who will be blessed with eternal heaven", a remark that was otherwise met with condemnation by moderate-leaning politicians whom accused the Islamist politician of supporting an assassin. In response, just a day after he made the remark, it was then announced by the Home Secretary, Theresa May that Hadi, along with a few of his close party affiliates have been officially blacklisted from entering the United Kingdom due to their apparent support for the slain would-be assassin. Nonetheless, on 17 March 2019, Rafiq was buried at an Islamic cemetery in Selangor. However, despite being a former police officer himself, Rafiq was notably excluded from being given a police-like burial, as per the tradition for slain police officers, so as to not cause further controversy.