MELAKA: A lemang seller was arrested for assaulting a buyer, who claimed that he had bought lemang that was not properly cooked.
The incident happened at a roadside stall on Jalan Bukit Beruang Utama, near a petrol station, here at 8pm on Friday.
Melaka Tengah district police chief ACP Christopher Patit said the victim, a 61-year-old military veteran, suffered injuries to his left ear and right hand due to being hit with a hollowed bamboo stick. He was treated at Melaka Hospital.
He said the victim went to the lemang stall to exchange lemang, which he had bought in the morning, because it was found to not be properly cooked.
“Upon arriving at the stall, the victim claimed that he had shown the uncooked lemang he bought to the 40-year-old seller, but the latter refused to look at it.
“The lemang seller then split open one of the lemang bought by the complainant and showed that the lemang was fully cooked before a verbal fight ensued between them, which led to the alleged assault,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He said the lemang seller also hit the victim with a bamboo stick on the left ear and right hand.
Initial investigations found that the incident occurred after the suspect claimed that the victim threw the uncooked lemang at him, making him angry. He claimed that the victim also wanted to upload a video of the incident, which was recorded, so that people would not come to his stall.
He added that the suspect was arrested at Jalan Kota at about 12.15am on Saturday but was released on police bail after his statement was recorded.
The investigation is ongoing, he said, adding that the investigation papers will be referred to the Deputy Public Prosecutor for further action.
A 29-second video clip of the incident went viral on social media. — Bernama
