GEORGE TOWN: Eleven men, aged between 19 and 34, who were jointly charged with committing an armed riot in front of a school last month, claimed trial for the offence in a Magistrate’s Court here.
Another accused, Lim Boon Sik, 19, was charged in a Sessions Court yesterday with attempted murder by allegedly ramming a vehicle into a man during the incident.
The 11 were Mohamad Nun Mohamad Jupri, 34; V. Rathakisnan, 22; M. Soman Sri, 19; G. Chad Sebastian, 19; Muhammad Haikal Muhammad Rafiq, 19; Elijah Yong, 19; Cheow Junnuo, 24; R. Divagar, 20; Muhammad Amirul Hafiz Abdullah, 21; Ng Chern Yeow, 24; and Tony Yen Chun Yun, 19.
They were alleged to have committed the offence in front of SJKC Kong Min Second Branch in Air Itam at about 2.45am on Aug 29.
The offence under Section 148 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 120B of the same law, which is participating in a riot while possessing dangerous objects or weapons that could be used to attack others, carries a maximum five-year jail term, a fine, or both.
The men were represented by counsel K. Mahendran and Sharmila Mogan, except Yen, a college student, who was represented by Edric Loo.
The prosecution, led by deputy public prosecutor Siti Marissa Safina Saiful Adli, proposed bail of RM10,000 for each accused.
Following mitigation, Magistrate Noor Idayu Salim allowed bail of RM6,000 for each accused with one surety.
All 11 accused were also ordered to report to the nearest police station once a month. They posted bail.
Noor Idayu fixed Oct 19 for submission of documents.
In a separate case at a Sessions Court, Lim denied a charge under Section 307 of the Penal Code for allegedly committing attempted murder by ramming a car into 25-year-old Yeap Jhun Ee.
Lim, whose court proceedings were conducted in Hokkien, was alleged to have used a Perodua Axia in Jalan Paya Terubong 3 at about 12.30am on Aug 29 to intentionally cause injury that could result in Yeap’s death.
The penalty for attempted murder is a maximum of 10 years’ jail and a fine, or up to 20 years if injury is caused to the victim.
Judge Juraidah Abbas allowed Lim bail of RM10,000 in one surety and also ordered him to report to the nearest police station once a month and not to interfere with any eyewitnesses in the case. He posted bail.
Deputy public prosecutor Anuarul Hakim Abdul Muen appeared for the prosecution. Juraidah set Oct 7 for the submission of documents.
It was reported that the Aug 29 clash was believed to have stemmed from a debt dispute following a meeting at a food court in Paya Terubong.
Initial investigations found that the armed brawl involved two main targets, aged 17 and 25. One of the victims was allegedly injured after being hit by a vehicle during the incident.
Police later arrested the suspects in five separate raids carried out across the state.
