JOHOR BARU, March 19 — A junior leader in a local political party has been arrested by police for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Mersing.

It is learnt that the 36-year-old man, who is a division leader in the party’s youth movement, was detained yesterday.

The suspect has also been remanded for the investigation.

It is unclear when the alleged incident took place.

The Star earlier reported Mersing police chief Superintendent Abdul Razak Abdullah Sani confirming the suspect’s arrest over reports lodged against him.

"The arrest followed reports from two individuals, which claimed that the suspect had sexually assaulted the 15-year-old boy.

"The suspect has been placed under police remand from today until Thursday to assist in investigation,” he was quoted by the English language daily in a report published today.

In the report, Abdul Razak declined to reveal the suspect’s position or his political affiliation.

He added that investigators were still probing the case to find out more information as the incident took place some time ago