KUALA LUMPUR: A security escort to a VVIP was fined RM1,000 by the magistrate's court today for hurting a deaf-mute e-hailing driver at a five-star hotel.
This came after Lance Corporal Muhammad Taufik Ismail,32, pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to Ong Ing Keong,47, at a five-star hotel in May.
Clad in a black collared T-shirt and beige pants, Taufik entered his plea before magistrate Farah Nabihah Muhamad Dan. She ordered him to serve 20 days in jail if he failed to pay the fine.
He was accused of committing the act on 11.40am at the lobby of St Regis Hotel in Brickfields on May 28. The charge under Section 323 of the Penal Code carries a maximum one-year jail term, a fine of up to RM2,000 or both upon conviction.
Kuala Lumpur deputy head of prosecution division Datuk Razali Che Ani had asked the court to mete out a just sentence as the case had garnered wide public attention.
"It also triggered anxiety within the society. The complainant is disabled and the accused, as a policeman, should defend and assist him instead of hurting him.
"An appropriate sentence should be handed down to serve as a lesson not just to the accused but also to society to deter any recurrence in the future," he said.
In mitigation, lawyer Ashok Athimulan pleaded for a lenient sentence as his client was a first offender and had a clean record in the force.
"He has been in the force for nine years and his early plea of guilty shows he is remorseful and repentant. He wants to apologise to the victim and his family.
"He willingly came to the court today to face this charge for the offence which had happened when he was carrying out his security escort duties and he is aware that the sentence will affect his career.
"This is not an organised crime or extreme violence case where he wanted to injure the victim. He had no motive to do so and there was no weapon involved.
"This case is not like others involving severe injuries as the victim sustained soft tissue injuries," he said, adding that Taufik had cooperated with the police and prosecutors from the start of investigations.
The facts of the case read that Ong had waited for five minutes for passengers to board his car when he saw a few people, including the accused, behaving like the bodyguard of a VVIP, who showed hand signals to him to leave the area.
However, he did not understand due to his disability and wound down his window to ask what was happening before he was punched on his right cheek.
He had sent his passengers to Segambut and lodged a police report. A medical report showed he had swelling on the right side of his face.
In August, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said disciplinary action had already been taken against a VVIP security escort after an internal investigation was conducted by the Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS) in early June.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa had said Ong filed a report on the day of the incident at 1pm.
However, Ong later lodged another report saying that the matter was resolved and that he did not want to prolong the matter.
The incident drew criticism from Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who deemed attempts to associate the royal institution with the alleged assault as unwarranted.