Five men, including two teenagers, pleaded guilty in the Magistrate’s Court on Thursday to a charge of taking part in a brawl at a restaurant while patrons were watching the FIFA World Cup final earlier this week.
The accused are Abdullah Tenis Munisamy, 38, Keevaan Jay Arkesh Rajendran, 28, Muhammad Nafiz, 19, and two boys aged 15 and 17.
They entered their guilty pleas after the charge was read before Magistrate Nurzihan Abdul Rehman.
According to the charge sheet, the five men, acting with a common intention, were involved in a fight at a restaurant in Taman Daya, Johor Bahru, at about 5.40am on 20 July, causing a disturbance to public peace.
They were charged under Section 160 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code, which carries a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM1,000, or both upon conviction.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Eizlan Azhar, while all five accused were unrepresented.
The court fined Abdullah, Keevaan and Muhammad Nafiz RM700 each, with a default sentence of seven days’ imprisonment if they fail to pay.
For the two juvenile offenders, aged 15 and 17, the court fixed 1 September for the submission of social reports before sentencing.
Earlier, Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad confirmed that 12 men aged between 15 and 38 had been arrested to assist investigations into the fight, which broke out while customers were watching the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at the restaurant.
The incident went viral after a 37-second video circulated on social media showing several individuals fighting and hurling chairs inside the premises.
Following investigations, police charged five of the suspects, while further action against the remaining individuals will depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
