JOHOR BARU, Jan 24 — A 60-year-old man was fined RM1,600 at the Magistrate’s Court here today after pleading guilty to slapping a Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom) staff late last year.
The accused, Koh Soon Hua, made the plea after the charge was read out to him in Mandarin before Magistrate Hidayatul Syuhada Shamsudin.
The accused, who is unemployed, was also ordered to serve two months’ imprisonment if he failed to pay the fine.
Koh was charged with committing the act at the Puspakom branch in Jalan Bertam here on November 18 at 5.40pm. He intentionally caused injury to branch staff Mohd Suzaini Mohd Talib, 38.
Koh was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntary causing hurt, which provides for a jail term of up to one year or a maximum fine of RM2,000 or both if convicted.
According to the facts of the case, the incident occurred when Koh was approached by a Puspakom staff at the branch and was informed that the lorry he brought in had failed a periodic inspection.
The situation enraged him, and he then physically assaulted the Puspakom employee on the left ear, causing swelling. Koh was later calmed down by another Puspakom staff member who witnessed the incident and intervened to stop the altercation.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Aishah Latif, while the accused was not represented.
Earlier this week, a video clip of the incident was widely circulated on social media.
In the short clip, an older man was seen slapping the face of a Puspakom staff due to a lorry that had failed a brake test during a periodic inspection. The incident was captured by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera at the Puspakom premises before it was uploaded on social media platforms.
Following the incident, the Puspakom staff who suffered an ear injury, filed a police report on November 18.