KUANTAN: A member of royalty and a policeman were among five jointly charged at the magistrate's court here for allegedly assaulting a 44-year-old man with a knife in June this year.
Tengku Eddie Akasya Tengku Abd Rahman, 20; Nik Norisham Affendi Nik Mohd Zani, 39; Mohd Fouzi Md Nur, 44; Mohd Taufik Daud, 32; and Khairul Azhar Rosli, 38, claimed trial after the charge was read by the court interpreter before magistrate Raja Norshuzianna Shakila Raja Mamat.
The five men including Tengku Eddie Akasya, dressed in a navy blue suit, stood in the dock looking calm and composed.
The five were accused of intentionally injuring Alias Awang,44, on his right thigh with a knife.
They had allegedly committed the act about 12.20am at a horse stable lot area in Jalan Teluk Sisek here on June 6 this year.
The charge under Section 324 of the Penal Code carries a maximum 10-year jail term, a fine or whipping or both upon conviction.
The prosecution was led by Pahang prosecution director Shahrizat Ismail along with Noor Aishah Mohd Amin and B. Deevagaran Naidu.
Cattle breeders Nik Norisham and Khairul Azhar along with mosaic contractor Taufik and Tengku Eddie Akasya were represented by lawyers Y. Sheelan Samuagam, K. Theivaendran, Datuk K. Santhra and Tee Yuan Sheng.
Mohammed Badrulzzaman Abu Bakar represented Fouzi, a policeman.
Shahrizat proposed RM10,000 bail for each accused and for them to report once a month at the nearest police station till the case ended.
In mitigation, Sheelan pleaded for a minimum bail amount of around RM5,000 for each accused saying the bail was to ensure the accused's attendance at their proceedings and the defence had no objection with the extra condition.
He told the court that Nik Norisham, Taufik and Khairul Azhar were married and had to support their respective families including children and elderly parents with their monthly income.
Sheelan said Tengku Eddie Akasya, second from four siblings, was helping his father to take care of their family business and was still under his parents' care.
Meanwhile, Badrulzzaman said his client, Fouzi, was currently suspended from his duties and has to support his wife, who is a housewife along with four children.
Raja Norshuzianna Shakila set bail at RM7,000 for each accused with one surety. She ordered all the accused to report at the nearest police station and not to disturb the victim or any witnesses until the case is concluded.
She fixed Dec 11 for mention.
The charge today has put to rest the speculation about a widely reported assault which purportedly included a member of the royalty.
Since the incident was highlighted, the victim was reported as saying that no action was being taken regarding his case.
The incident also caught the attention of Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who demanded justice for the victim and called for transparency in the investigation.