MELAKA. A lemang seller has been arrested for assaulting a man who claimed the rice-based delicacy he bought was not properly cooked, in an incident at a roadside stall on Jalan Bukit Beruang Utama near a petrol station here on Friday.
Melaka Tengah district police chief ACP Christopher Patit said that in the 8pm incident on Friday (April 21), the victim, a 61-year-old military veteran, suffered injuries to his left ear and right hand after he was hit with a stick of bamboo. He received treatment for his injuries at Melaka Hospital.
ACP Patit said that the victim had gone to the lemang stall to get a replacement for the dish he had bought in the morning because it was not properly cooked.
"The victim claimed that he tried to show the uncooked lemang to the 40-year-old seller, but he 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 an argument ensued between them, which eventually led to the alleged assault," he said in a statement here on Sunday (April 23).
He said that the lemang 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 that the victim threw the uncooked lemang at him, which angered him. He also claimed that the victim also wanted to upload a video he recorded of the incident so people would not come to his stall.
He added that the suspect was arrested at Jalan Kota at about 12.15am on Saturday, but was released on police bail after his statement was recorded.
He also said that the investigation is ongoing, and the investigation papers will be referred to the Deputy Public Prosecutor for further action.
On Saturday (April 23), a 29-second video clip of the incident went viral on social media, which shows the lemang seller hitting the victim with bamboo and hurling abusive words at him. – Bernama
