JOHOR BARU: An elderly man seen in a viral video assaulting an employee of the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom) was fined RM1,600 by a Magistrate's Court here on Friday (Jan 24), Malay language daily Sinar Harian reports.
Magistrate Hidayatul Syuhada Shamsudin imposed the sentence after the accused, Koh Soon Hua, 60, pleaded guilty after the charge against him was read out in Mandarin by a court interpreter.
The unemployed accused was also ordered to serve a six-month prison sentence if he failed to pay the fine.
According to the charge sheet, the suspect was accused of committing the act when he brought his lorry for inspection at the Puspakom branch in Taman Daya, Johor Baru.
The accused was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum imprisonment of up to one year or a maximum fine of RM20,000, or both, if found guilty.
The prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Aishah Latiff, while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.
Earlier, the media reported that a man had punched a Puspakom employee in the face, allegedly because he was dissatisfied after his lorry failed the brake test during a routine inspection.
Moreover, the incident, which was also recorded on CCTV at Puspakom, went viral on social media.
Following this, the Puspakom employee suffered a bruised ear and lodged a police report on Nov 18, 2024.
