Suspects of crimes and offences display all manner of behaviour – from a weeping alleged mother-in-law murder to a brutal killer still at large to a group of cop-attacking gamblers, and finally, to an impudent Facebook user who posted an edited photo of PM that was deemed insulting.
Wailing Noodle Seller
A prawn noodle seller wept uncontrollably before he was charged with the murder of his mother-in-law in Klang, the New Straits Times reported.
Lim Bu Kwang, 43, was at the dock waiting for the charge to be read when he cried openly as two relatives approached him.
He was accused of killing Ooi Swan Hong @ Ng Swan Foong, 70, at a house in Teman Teluk Pulai between Oct 25 and Oct 28.
No plea was recorded when the charge was read to Lim in Mandarin before magistrate Rozianti Mohamed Hanaphi at the Klang court.
Wearing an orange T-shirt, Lim, represented by counsels Gerard Lazarus and Ethan Tan, nodded to indicate he understood the charge.
Deputy public prosecutor Amira Abdul Aziz told the court that the prosecution was waiting for pathology, forensic, chemistry and post-mortem reports.
Rozianti set Dec 18 for mention.
It was reported that Lim had allegedly beaten the elderly woman several times between Oct 25 and Oct 28.
The victim succumbed to her injuries while receiving treatment at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital on Nov 3.
The matter came to light after the victim’s 36-year-old stepdaughter filed a police report against her husband.
Dangerous Triple-Murder Criminal
The Kelantan state police have warned the public not to approach a 31-year-old man wanted in connection with the brutal murder of a married couple and their son near Wakaf Mek Zainab on Wednesday.
The suspect, Sharat s/o Eh Wang @ Pot, from Kampung Jubakar Darat, Tumpat, is a dangerous criminal, according to Kelantan Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Fakri Che Sulaiman.
“The police advises the public not to act alone if they come across the suspect. If he can kill three people in such a cruel manner, he may do the same to others,” Fakri said.
Speaking during a press conference in Kota Baru today, he said initial investigations revealed that the suspect may have crossed the border into Thailand and the police are seeking help from their Thai counterparts to track down the man, who was an employee of the murdered couple.
He added that Thai police will deploy its border patrol officers to scan Sungai Golok near Rantau Panjang, which acts as a natural border that separates Malaysia and Thailand.
A Mitsubishi van, believed to be used by the suspect when he fled, was found abandoned in Rantau Panjang, about 50km from the murder scene.
“Our border patrol police will conduct surveillance along the river. Meanwhile, the Customs Department and other volunteers will conduct checks at nearby towns to look for the suspect,” said Sungai Golok police chief Colonel Prayut Phongsanti.
Police believe the suspect had murdered his victims at a double-storey house-cum-hardware store in Taman Bahagia at 2.30pm on Wednesday.
The deceased were trader Kha Eng Ni, 42; his wife, Chua Joo Seok, 37; and their son, Kha Zee Hanz, 13.
Six Cop Attackers from China
Six China nationals, including a woman, alleged to have been involved in the attack of a police patrol team last Saturday were charged with rioting at the magistrate’s court today, according to a separate report by the New Straits Times.
Zhao Jianzhong, 51, Coa Yong Jun, 45, Wu Yinhua, 28, Zhu Suhong, 48, Zhang Jinping, 48, and Guo Jianhui, 51, claimed trial after the charge was read to them in Mandarin.
They were jointly charged with rioting against four police personnel from the Tun HS Lee police station and causing injuries to them.
The offence was allegedly committed at Jalan Abraham Off Jalan Imbi, Dang Wangi, Kuala Lumpur, at 11.36pm on Nov 11.
Their charge under Section 147 of the Penal Code carries an imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or a fine or both, if convicted.
The six, who were represented by counsel Dexter Chua, pleaded for bail be imposed.
“The accused are willing to surrender their passports to the court and to report at the police station each month,” Chua said.
Magistrate Siti Radziah Kamarudin allowed each accused RM8,000 bail with two local sureties and fixed Dec 19 for mention.
All six posted bail with two local sureties.
It was earlier reported that a police patrol team was forced to fire warning shots when they were attacked by dozens of men from China when checking on gambling activities at the car porch of a house.
Following the incident, police arrested 50 men from China at the scene and brought them to the Dang Wangi police headquarters for further action. Six were detained while the rest were released.
Initial checks showed that several houses in the area have been turned into quarters for around 200 Chinese workers.
Impudent FB User
A factory operator was sentenced to four months in prison by the Petaling Jaya magistrate’s court for uploading an offensive post on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on his Facebook page last month.
Magistrate Mohd Azali Ibrahim meted out the sentence against Mohamad Hamizan Ghazali after he pleaded guilty to the offence today.
The 24-year-old man was charged with uploading an edited image of Najib to his Facebook account bearing the name Leyzan Ghazali with the intention of offending others at Jalan Melati 2, Taman Paya Rumput Perdana, Melaka Tengah between 12.01pm on Oct 20 and 5.30pm on Oct 22.
The offence falls under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 which provides for one year’s imprisonment, or a RM50,000 fine, or both, upon conviction.
Hamizan who was unrepresented pleaded for lenience sentence stating that he had been remanded for five days as the mitigation factor.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Abu Arsalnaa Zainal Abidin pressed for deterrent sentence against the accused.
“He should not upload an edited picture that can tarnish the image of the national leader,” he said.
Reportedly, several lawyers said the four-month jail sentence for posting a cartoon with an obscene caption deemed insulting to Najib was harsh and the authorities were acting in an overzealous manner to protect the image of the prime minister.
“While whatever he had posted may be rude, it should be criminalised to the point that he is jailed.
“The authorities should have considered his constitutional right to freedom of speech as after all, what real harm has he done?” Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) executive director Eric Paulsen told FMT.
According to the news portal, Paulsen said that by investigating and prosecuting such trivial matters, the authorities were wasting valuable resources that should be used to tackle online crimes.
Reportedly, he questioned what the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was doing regarding the massive personal data breach and asked why they were not focusing on such serious matters.
“This should be their primary concern, rather than pursuing petty social media postings,” Paulsen was quoted as saying.
Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim concurred that the sentence was harsh and disproportionate to the offence.
“Obviously, the magistrate has not been well trained by the system. Posting a cartoon of a PM deserves no more than a RM100 fine, if at all.
“A judge somewhere should revise this sentence. It is totally disproportionate to the offence,” Zaid was quoted as saying by FMT.
Earlier reports:
Nov 6, Klang Man Arrested for Allegedly Beating Elderly Mother-in Law to Death
Nov 17, Suspect of Kota Baru Triple Murder Was Close to Family
Nov 16, Manhunt for Suspect in Kota Baru Brutal Triple Murder
Nov 16, Operation in Jalan Imbi After Police Attack
Nov 13, Chinese Nationals Attack Cops in Gambling Raid Gone Awry