MELAKA – A lemang seller was arrested for assaulting a buyer who claimed he had bought lemang which was not properly cooked, in an incident here on Friday.
Melaka Tengah district police chief Christopher Patit said in the 8pm incident at a roadside stall on Jalan Bukit Beruang Utama, the victim suffered injuries to his left ear and right hand due to being hit with a hollowed bamboo stick and was treated at Melaka Hospital.
He said that, before the incident, the victim, a 61-year-old military veteran, went to the stall to exchange lemang which he had bought in the morning as it was found to be not properly cooked.
“Upon arriving at the stall, the victim claimed that he had shown the uncooked lemang he had bought to the 40-year-old seller, but the latter refused to look at it.
“The lemang seller then split open one of the lemang bought by the complainant, and showed that the lemang was fully cooked, before a verbal fight ensued between them which led to the alleged assault,” he said in a statement here today.
He said that, during the incident, the seller also hit the victim with a bamboo stick on the left ear and right hand.
The initial investigation found that the incident occurred as the suspect claimed he had been angered when the victim threw the uncooked lemang at him. He claimed that the victim also wanted to upload a video of the incident, which was recorded, so that people would not come to his stall.
He added that the suspect was then arrested at Jalan Kota at about 12.15am yesterday, but was released on police bail after his statement was recorded.
He also said that the investigation is ongoing, and the probe papers will be referred to the deputy public prosecutor for further action.
Yesterday, a 29-second clip of the incident went viral on social media, showing the lemang seller assaulting the victim with a bamboo stick and hurling abuse. – Bernama, April 23, 2023
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