KLANG: A businessman who made headlines for allegedly beating up his bodyguards for fasting and threatened them at gun point was charged at the Magistrate's court today.
Chung Chee Yang, 43, claimed trial to five counts before magistrate P. Sarulatha.
According to the first charge, Chung had committed criminal intimidation against Mohd Azminizam Zulkepli, 44, by threatening to hurt the victim while pointing a pistol at the latter.
The offence under Section 506 of the Penal Code carries a maximum jail term of seven years or fine or both, if convicted.
The accused was also charged with two counts of abetting his personal assistant Choo Hin Voon by ordering the latter to intentionally cause hurt to Azminizam and another victim Ahmad Shamsuri Zailan, 24, using a rotan.
The charges framed under Section 109 read together with Section 324 of the Penal Code carries a maximum 10 years jail term, a fine, or whipping or any two of the punishments, upon conviction.
Chung was also charged with uttering words to the two victims with deliberate intent to hurt their religious feelings, an offence under Section 298 of the Penal Code.
The offence carries a maximum jail term of up to a year or a fine or both, if convicted.
For the fifth count, he was accused with voluntarily causing hurt to Azminizam.
He faces up to a years' jail or a fine of up to RM2,000, or both if convicted of the offence under Section 323 of the Penal Code.
Chung allegedly committed all the offences at the yard of a house at Jalan Batu Nilam 9, Bandar Bukit Tinggi, here, between 10.30pm and 11.30pm on April 13, this year.
Standing in the same dock was his personal assistant Choo who was charged with two counts of voluntarily causing hurt to both victims at the same place and time.
Choo, 43, also claimed trial to the charges.
Deputy public prosecutor Asyraf Ashy'ari Kamaruzam proposed a RM200,000 bail amount for each of Chung's charges and RM100,000 for each of Choo's charges with additional conditions that both accused surrender their passport to the the court and report to the police station until the disposal of the case.
In pleading for a lower bail, counsel Abdul Hakeem Aiman who represented Chung said his client is the sole breadwinner of the family and an employer who has 30 over workers who are depending on him.
"The accused is a property investor who does a lot of charity work, especially contributions to the temples... He runs two businesses and has more than 30 workers who depend on him.
"Not only that, he has to maintain his wife and children who are still in school, the accused also takes care of his parents who are of old age," he said.
Apart from that, Abdul Hakeem said his client who is a father of four is also suffering from various medical conditions.
Meanwhile, Choo's counsel Jacky Loi in pleading for a minium bail said his client, a father of two is also taking care of his mother who is wheelchair bound.
Loi suggested that a bail amount of between RM10,000 and RM20,000 for all the charges against his client was reasonable
Sarulatha then allowed Chung RM50,000 bail for all the charges and RM20,000 bail for Choo with one surety each accused.
She also ordered the duo to surrender their passports to the court and report to the police station once a month until the case is disposed of.
Their case will be up for mention on June 23.
It was reported that a 43-year old businessman was arrested for allegedly assaulting and threatening his two workers for fasting.
The two victims who were the suspect's bodyguards had suffered severe bruises and blood clots as a result of being assaulted with canes by their boss and some of his employees.
The victims were also believed to have been threatened at gun point.