NEWS

Rela Rejects Settlement Offer from ‘Datuk Seri’ in Assault Case

August 14, 2018

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Rela has rejected a compensation offer from Datuk Seri Liow Soon Hee who is accused of assaulting three Rela members last year.

Victims want the accused punished
Datuk Seri’s lawyer claims media coverage not fair – too much attention to Rela
Alleges Rela did a lot of things to trigger the incident – they failed to control themselves, were harsh, rude and pushed other people

Rela Director-General Zulkifli Abidin said the three victims have rejected the offer on the basis that they wish for the accused to be punished according to the law.

“We do not wish to send a wrong message to the public where Rela can be bought over using money when there is any offence committed against our personnel.

“Furthermore, this case also involves the integrity and pride of Rela. Hence, we ask for the case to go to trial as soon as possible,” Zulkifli said after the assault case was mentioned before magistrate Mohamad Firdaus Sadina Ali.

Zulkifli also asked for the court to hand out the rightful punishment to the accused if he is found guilty.

“I hope that the case can be made as a lesson for not only the accused but also for everyone to respect all uniformed authorities,” he said.

Lawyer Datuk Michael Wong, who is holding watching brief for Rela, confirmed that the three Rela members had decided not to accept the compensation offer.

Liow’s lawyer Datuk Rajpal Singh said they sent a letter of representation to Rela, seeking to compensate the Rela members involved.

“However, we did not get a favourable answer. We have informed the Attorney General Chambers of the answer,” he said.

The magistrate said the trial would continue as fixed on Sept 5, 6 and 7, and that bail would be maintained.

DPP Norhashimah Hashim appeared for the prosecution.

Meanwhile, Rajpal has called on the media not to give so much attention to Rela. They should give a fair coverage to the accused as well, he said.

“Why has this case been given so much of media attention, there should not be any trial by media.

“Please do not listen to one side only as they (Rela) also did a lot of things to trigger the incident, they failed to control themselves on the day of the incident – they were harsh, rude and they also pushed around other people who were there at the temple,” he said.

Rajpal said his client made an offer to Rela because the latter does not wish for this issue to become any bigger than it is now instead of admitting to his mistakes.

Liow, 29, is facing three charges under Section 353 of the Penal Code for intentionally assaulting three Rela members who were carrying out their duties at a temple in Kampung Baru Ampang.