AFTER several ‘twists and turns’ which culminated in the senior citizen in the centre of the moral policing gone awry been ‘let of the hook’ with a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) by the Johor Bahru Magistrate’s Court this morning (March 19), the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has stepped in to assuage shocked Malaysians.
According to the AGC, there was a technical issue in the mentioning of the case which has since been ironed out.
“The technical issue in relation to the charging of the suspect has since been overcome and he shall be re-charged on the afternoon of March 19 (today), the AGC pointed out in a statement.
“The AGC is committed to ensure that justice is served to all parties receive in accordance with the provisions of the law.”
To re-cap, many Malaysians were expecting a deterrent sentence against Abdul Razak Ismail, 65, after he angered the entire nation by slapping a 21-year-old Sarawakian Chinese undergraduate at a Family Mart outlet in Johor Bahru on Sunday (March 16) after accusing the latter for not fasting.
Earlier, Magistrate A. Shaarmini has granted a DNAA to Razak who has been charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt to the youth identified as Elijah Ling Zhao Zhong after the prosecution having received such instruction as well as to refer the investigation paper to the AGC Headquarters in Putrajaya.
Prior to this, Abdul Razak had pleaded guilty to the charge of voluntarily causing hurt to Elijah, a crime that carries a jail term of up to a year or a fine not exceeding RM2,000 or both, upon conviction.
However, the Magistrate has rejected his guilty plea and instructed him to hire a lawyer as his guilty plea was made solely because “he has a wife to support” despite disagreeing or not admitting to the facts of the case.
Last Monday (March 17), Johor Bahru North police chief ACP Balveer Singh Mahindar Singh confirmed police had received a report from the 21-year-old complainant at 9.08pm on Sunday.
In a statement, Balveer said that in the incident occurred at 3.45pm on Sunday (March 16) when the complainant who was eating at that 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. – March 19, 2025
Main image credit: Berita Harian
