Three men accused of brutally assaulting a long-haired man at a bak kut teh restaurant in Kepong appeared at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex on Thursday morning, where they remained silent and avoided cameras as they were escorted by police.
The suspects arrived at around 9.56am in a police vehicle before being brought into the courthouse under tight escort. In contrast to the aggressive behaviour allegedly seen during the attack, the trio kept their heads down throughout the walk into the building and avoided eye contact with members of the media.
The three Chinese men are expected to be charged at Criminal Court 15 under Section 326 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing grievous hurt using dangerous weapons or objects, read together with Section 34 for common intention.
If convicted under Section 326, the accused could face up to 20 years’ imprisonment, along with possible fines or whipping. They may also face charges under Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting while armed with weapons, which carries a jail sentence of up to five years, a fine, or both upon conviction.
The incident reportedly took place at around 2am on May 7 at a bak kut teh restaurant along Jalan Kepong in Kuala Lumpur.
Police previously confirmed the arrest of the three suspects and revealed that the men were allegedly intoxicated during the incident. Investigations found that the assault was believed to have started after the suspects became unhappy when the victim looked at them.
The victim, a long-haired man dining at the restaurant, was allegedly dragged by his hair and repeatedly attacked with objects including teacups and plastic chairs.
Viral videos circulating online showed a man in a blue shirt suddenly standing up and pointing at the victim before charging towards him. Two other men, dressed in white and red shirts respectively, then joined in the attack.
The trio allegedly pushed the victim to the ground before surrounding and assaulting him from outside the restaurant into the premises for nearly three minutes.
Footage also showed the attackers punching and kicking the victim while pulling his hair to stop him from escaping. They were also seen throwing teacups, striking him with a kettle and hurling plastic chairs during the violent attack.
The victim was reportedly knocked to the ground multiple times and appeared to beg for mercy, but the suspects allegedly continued assaulting him without stopping.
Towards the end of the video, the injured victim was seen stumbling out of the restaurant with blood on his face and dishevelled hair while one of the suspects continued chasing after him aggressively.
