KOTA TINGGI: Two foreign men were fined RM5,000 each at a Magistrate's Court here after pleading guilty to wearing indecent clothes during a controversial running event in Pengerang.
Satyanarayana Prasad Papoli, 70, and Arthur Wang, 66, pleaded guilty after the charges were read to them before Magistrate Nurkhalida Farhana Abu Bakar here on Monday (Oct 7).
The charges were read in Mandarin to Wang, a Taiwan national, and in English to Satyanarayana, from India.
According to the charge sheets, both men were accused of committing an obscene act that caused disturbance to others in a public place by wearing indecent clothing.
The act was committed near a hotel in Jalan Utama Jalan Desaru, Pengerang, between 4pm and 6pm on Friday (Oct 4).
It is an offence under Section 294 of the Penal Code for public indecency, which carries imprisonment for a period up to three months or a fine or both upon conviction.
The case was prosecuted by Johor state prosecution director Abdul Ghafar Ab Latif and DPPs Ahmad Khairuddin Khalid and Foo Fang Leong, while both accused were not represented.
During the proceeding, Abdul Ghafar requested a heavier penalty as the offence had caused public grievances.
He also said the penalty should serve as a lesson to both visitors and locals to adhere to norms in the country.
In his defence, Wang, who is unemployed, said he was unfamiliar with Malaysian norms and he had no intention to cause a public grievance.
“For the past 10 years, I have been promoting the aboriginal culture of Orchid Island in Taiwan. Had I known that the clothing (would be regarded as) indecent (here), I would not have worn it.
“I would like to apologise to the people of this country and Malaysians in general, and I promise that I will not repeat this mistake,” he said, adding that he is also unemployed.
Meanwhile, Satyanarayana said it was not unusual for men to wear women’s clothing during hash events.
“I came here with the pure intention of doing charity. However, I admit my mistake of wearing women's clothing," he said, adding that he is a former lawyer and suffers from heart disease.
The court then fined each man RM5,000 in default one month's jail.
Both accused paid the fine.
Earlier, Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar said police had arrested three men, including two foreigners, for allegedly committing indecent behaviour during a controversial running event in Kota Tinggi.
The three suspects aged 39 to 70 were arrested at a hotel in Kota Tinggi at around 10pm on Saturday (Oct 5).
“Their arrest is to help with the investigation of their involvement in carrying out indecent behaviour, including public exposure, during the running event.
“Police also seized several accessories from the suspects including a red sari, a red skirt, three silver coloured pieces of cardboard with a fake spear shaft,” he said.
On Saturday, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the state government would investigate the controversial running event after concerns were raised over participants’ allegedly inappropriate clothing.
He stressed that the event, which has sparked outrage on social media, was not organised by the state government or any of its agencies.
