JOHOR BARU: Fourteen male students were charged in the Magistrate’s Court here for allegedly taking part in an unlawful assembly that turned violent outside a secondary school in Bandar Selesa Jaya last Friday (April 10).
Six of the students, including a 12-year-old boy, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Nabilah Nizam, while eight others aged between 15 and 17 claimed trial to the same charge, which was read out jointly here on Tuesday (April 14).
According to the charge sheet, all 14 were allegedly part of an unlawful assembly that engaged in fighting and rioting, resulting in violence in front of the school at about 12.45pm on April 10.
The offence is framed under Section 147 of the Penal Code, which carries penalties for rioting.
Nabilah then fixed April 29 for the submission of social reports, facts of the case and sentencing for the six students who pleaded guilty.
She also set the same date for case management involving document submission and the appointment of legal counsel for the eight students who claimed trial.
Bail was set at RM800 for each of the 14 accused.
In separate proceedings at the same Magistrate court, a mother of two, identified as R. Loganayagi, 36, pleaded not guilty to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a 17-year-old student.
In another Magistrate’s Court before Atifah Hazimah Wahab, a woman identified as S. Lakshmy, 37, also pleaded not guilty to a similar charge involving the same victim.
Both women were accused of committing the offence within the compound of the same secondary school between 12pm and 12.10pm on April 10.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Anis Syafeeqah Mohd Shariffudin, while the accused were represented by lawyers from the National Legal Aid Foundation.
The court allowed bail of RM2,000 with one surety for both women and fixed April 28 and May 14 for further mention and submission of documents.
In the incident last Friday, police received information from the public regarding a fight between students in front of a school in Bandar Selesa Jaya, Skudai which went viral on social media.
On the same day, police arrested 14 boys and two adult women aged between 12 and 37 in the Taman Nusa Bestari and Iskandar Puteri areas.
When questioned, all suspects admitted to being involved in the incident which stemmed from dissatisfaction when one of them was slapped, leading to a fight after school hours.
