Johor Bahru: An elderly man who went viral for slapping a non-Muslim youth in an incident at a convenience store last Sunday was granted a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) by the Magistrate’s Court here today from the charge of voluntarily causing hurt. The accused, Abdul Razak Ismail, 65, however, will be recharged on another date.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Magistrate A Shaarmini made the ruling after the court was informed of the latest instruction for the prosecution to classify the case as DNAA and to refer it to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) in Putrajaya. ‘The prosecution has received an instruction for this case to be classified as DNAA for the time being and to refer the investigation paper to the AGC Headquarters in Putrajaya. So the case against you is DNAA,’ she said.
Earlier, Abdul Razak pleaded guilty to the charge of voluntarily causing hurt to Elijah Ling Zhao Zhong, at a convenience store in a shopping mall here at 3.45 pm, last Sunday. The charge, framed under Section 323 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to a year or a fine not exceeding RM2,000, or both, upon conviction.
According to the facts of the case, the victim, who is also the complainant, stated that he was slapped by the accused and the results of the victim’s medical examination found that there was a bruise on his right cheek. However, after the facts of the case were read out, Abdul Razak did not admit the facts, saying that they were not true.
The Magistrate addressed Abdul Razak, stating that since he didn’t admit the facts of the case, his guilty plea was rejected and he would have to appoint a lawyer to enter his defense. Abdul Razak responded by expressing his willingness to plead guilty, citing responsibility for supporting his wife. However, the Magistrate explained that a conditional guilty plea could not be accepted, and set a mention date for Abdul Razak to appoint a lawyer.
Before the mention date was set, deputy public prosecutor Nur Fatihah Mohd Nizam informed the court that the prosecution had received new instructions for Abdul Razak to be discharged not amounting to acquittal and for the case to be referred to the AGC. When asked by the Magistrate if the accused would be recharged later, Nur Fatihah confirmed that he would.
Last Monday, Johor Bahru North police chief ACP Balveer Singh Mahindar Singh confirmed that police had received a report from the 21-year-old complainant at 9.08 pm on Sunday. Balveer Singh was quoted as saying that in the incident at 3.45 pm on Sunday, the complainant, who was eating at the time, claimed that he was slapped twice on the right cheek by an unknown man after being asked about his religion and asked to show his MyKad as evidence. The incident also went viral on social media through two videos lasting 32 and 44 seconds.