KUCHING – Sarawak police have arrested 13 people, including ten teenagers, for suspected involvement in a brawl at a hotel in the Batu Kawah commercial centre near the Kuching city centre that ended with the death of a hotel worker.
The state police chief, Comm Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri, said the incident has been classified as one of murder, instead of the initial classification of violent assault.
"We have arrested 13 people including 10 teens following investigations into the case at a Batu Kawah hotel that happened around midnight on October 30,” he said.
"On that night, a brawl had broken out between some hotel workers and a group of people who were members of the public.
"Due to the fighting, a hotel worker was badly injured and was rushed to the Sarawak General Hospital for urgent treatment.
"He died at the hospital, and the case have now been classified under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder," he said in a statement.
Comm Azman said the 13 suspects have been placed under remand pending further probes.
He did not reveal the exact age of each of the suspects, nor their identity.
He also did not disclose the age of the deceased, and whether the teenagers allegedly involved are still students.
The cause of the physical altercation that ended with the tragic death is also being probed.
The Batu Kawah commercial centre, which has several entertainment and nightlife spots, is located about 10km from downtown Kuching.
The issue of underaged individuals being found to be involved in criminal activities has dogged the authorities in Sarawak for some time.
Late last month, police in central Sarawak looking for a gang of break-in “specialists” behind a spate of property burglaries in Sibu district found the alleged culprits to be children and teenagers.
They arrested nine schoolboys aged between 11 and 16 years who had experienced breaking into retail outlets for theft several times.
It was reported last year that there is an increasing trend of youths and schoolchildren under 18 years being involved in misdemeanours like theft in the country.
According to the Statistics Department, minors were involved in 5,342 criminal cases in 2020 – a 10.5% increase from 4,833 in 2019.
The number of first-time offenders in 2020 also increased by 15.7% to 4,916 cases compared with 4,248 the year before. – The Vibes, November 10, 2023
