Seven men fined for rioting in front of temple

Seven men were fined between RM2,800 and RM3,000 by the Seri Manjung Magistrate's Court here today after pleading guilty to rioting in front of a temple here last week.

Magistrate A. Hafizh Abu Bakar imposed RM2,800 fine in default seven months' jail on Oh Kun Tick, 50, and Teh Sian Bing, 49.

While five others namely, Goh Kok Soon, 36, Ooi Jing Hen, 21, Tan Yuen Guan, 20, dan Lim Zi Yin and Oh Tiong Min were each fined RM3,000 in default eight months' jail.

Also pleading guilty to the same charge was a 16-year-old boy and the court set Oct 14 for sentencing pending his behaviour report from the Social Welfare Department.

All of the accused were charged with committing the offence in front of the Fu Ling Kong Temple in Sungai Pinang Besar, Pangkor, Manjung here at about 9.30 pm on Sept 1.

The charge, under Section 147 of the Penal Code, read together under Section 34 of the same law carries a maximum jail term of two years or a fine or both, upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Fatin Farahiyah Nadzri appeared for the prosecution while lawyer Jaspreet Kaur from the National Legal Aid Foundation represented all the accused.

In the same court, five men pleaded not guilty to the same charge.

Teow Chea How, 30, Kuk Kiam Wei, 29, Yong Teng Cheok, 22, Ang Liang, 18, and a 16-year-old boy were charged with committing the offence at the same place, time and date.

The court allowed them bail between RM2,000 and RM5,000 in one surety and set Oct 14 for mention.

-- BERNAMA