Fighting at Dataran Merdeka, eight men fined RM1,000

They are Mohamad Syahrul Azrai Mas Ringo,18; Nasrin Superatekjo, 26; Mohd Sharuddin Muhamad Sali, 26; Mohammad Azrul Effendy Azmi,19; Muhammad Taufiq Zakaria, 22; Muhammad Razif Razali, 21; Muhammad Dashrin Ashraff Ishak, 21 and Muhammad Azizul Izwan Mohd Saian, 22.

Magistrate Fardiana Haryanti Ahmad Razali also ordered all the accused to serve one month in jail if they failed to pay the fine.

Also pleading guilty to the same charge were three 17-year-old boys, however the court postponed their sentencing to Sept 28 pending a report (laporan akhlak).

All the accused were charged with fighting at Dataran Merdeka, here, at 1.29 am on Aug 23 under Section 159 of the Penal Code which can be punished under Section 160 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

They can be sentenced to up to six months in prison or face a maximum fine of RM1,000, or both.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor, Wan Ahmad Hakimi Wan Ahmad Jaafar asked the court to impose an appropriate sentence on all the accused to serve as a deterrent.

“Dataran Merdeka should be a place to show our patriotic spirit, but the fighting incident (fighting) has disturbed the peace of the area, let alone this is the national month,” said Wan Ahmad Hakimi.

Lawyer Mohammad Zaidi Othman who represented Mohamad Syahrul Nasrin, Mohd Sharuddin, Mohd Azrul, Muhammad Dashrin, Muhammad Azizul and the three minors said the fight had not been planned and the incident had occurred due to a misunderstanding.

The other three accused, Mohammad Azrul, Muhammad Taufiq and Muhammad Razif were not represented.

Earlier, a 15-second video went viral on social media showing a group of youths, some of them armed with helmets, fighting at Dataran Merdeka.

Police who received a report of the incident from the public found that the cause of the fight was due to a misunderstanding between a group of young motorcyclists and did not involve triad elements or gangsterism.