The bizarre story behind the video footage that went viral of a man being repeatedly beaten by a cane in his house.
A video showing a 52-year-old man being brutally beaten in front of his distressed wife and son was posted by Community Policing Malaysia founder Kuan Chee Heng on his Facebook page on Sunday.
With the information that subsequently emerged, it turned out to be a case of a domestic dispute that escalated into a reported assault by a neighbour in an apparent attempt to discipline the husband.
At about 3.30pm on Sept 6, odd-job labourer Khor Meng Heong reprimanded his wife, Lee Seng Kieow, 48, over a messy house and unwashed clothes at their home in Klang.
Lee then ran out of the house with some of the unwashed clothes and an elderly neighbour asked her what had happened, after which he gave Khor a hard stare.
Angered, Khor shouted some profanity at the man who left the scene after being scolded for interfering with a domestic dispute.
Several minutes later, a younger man armed with a thick cane went to Khor’s house to dispense corporal punishment.
“He told me the elderly man was his father and started hitting me,” The Star quoted Khor as saying.
The severe beating was recorded by another individual, believed to be the neighbour’s friend, and uploaded to social media.
The one-minute, 43-second footage shows a man asking Khor’s tearful wife to move aside in Hokkien.
Then he starts telling off Khor and forces him to kneel down before caning him in front of his pleading wife and frightened, wailing child. Khor screams in pain until he collapses to the ground, writhing in agony.
After multiple canings to the body and legs, Khor is made to kneel again before the video clip ends.
The victim sustained injuries to his right shoulder, buttocks, left thigh and right calf. He sought treatment at the Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah.
He also lodged a report at the Bandar Baru Klang police station yesterday over the beating.
In a statement released yesterday, Bukit Aman corporate communications chief Senior Asst Comm Datin Asmawati Ahmad said the suspect has been identified as the victim’s neighbour.
Police have confiscated the cane and are looking for the assailant.
The case is being investigated under Section 324 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons.
Khor said the incident had taken a big toll on him as he was already going through a stressful and difficult time.
The sole breadwinner of the family, he was earning a meagre RM1,000 a month and was finding it hard to make ends meet as he has to support his wife and two sons, aged 14 and 11.
Khor revealed that his landlord had told them to vacate their rented house as he wanted the premises back.
“He gave me until Sept 7 but I asked for an extension as we have a lot of things to pack,” he said.
Khor admitted he lost his cool that day when he found there were a lot of things still unpacked and a big pile of dirty laundry.
“We needed to get everything done in the next day or two to move to a RM200 a month room in the same area.
“I told my wife that I will either burn or dump all the unwashed clothes as we do not have much time left,” Khor said.
“My eldest son, who is 14, is mentally disabled after being hit by a motorbike when he was six. I have to worry about him as well as the welfare of my other son,” he added.
Kuan condemned the merciless caning of Khor, saying he would be monitoring the case as well as arranging assistance for the family.