Man Attacks Female Shopkeeper When She Wouldn't Repair His Cracked Phone Screen
A dissatisfied customer has blown a simple argument out of proportion with violence.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 18 Jan 2016, 06:28 PM
A customer violently attacked a mobile phone store assistant at a shopping mall in Kuching over a broken handphone screen issue
Kuching police district chief, ACP Roslan Bek Ahmad speaking to members of the public during a community policing walk around Kubah Riah, yesterday, 17 January
Image via New Sarawak TribuneAccording to Sin Chew Daily, the unnamed assailant apparently threatened the shop clerk, asking her if she remembers the Low Yat incident before attacking her.
The customer came in with a cracked mobile phone screen and was told by the shopkeeper that the repair would cost him RM130.
He then negotiated with the shopkeeper, offering to pay RM50 as an upfront instead, for which she refused and he started attacking her.
The incident happened at one of the shopping malls in Padang Merdeka, Kuching.
Kuching police district chief, ACP Roslan Bek Ahmad stressed that the public should not liken this incident to the controversial one that occured last July at the Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur
He said there was no resemblance between the two cases as the incident on Saturday was merely a case of a dissatisfied customer who took the matter into his own hands after failing to claim warranty on a broken handphone screen.
Roslan said the customer's threat by raising the Low Yat Plaza issue at the time of the incident was viewed as a serious case and it must be acted upon by the police.
He also urged the public, particularly the netizens not to twist the facts pertaining to the incident as it could cause public unrest.
The authorities have gathered the details of the man involved in the incident and the case is being investigated under Section 506 and 323 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation and causing hurt
Meanwhile, Roslan attributed the decline in reported crime cases in Kuching last year to the cooperation from the community policing and Rakan Cop.
"A total of 1,802 cases were recorded in Kuching in 2015 as compared to 3,525 cases in 2013 and 5,595 in 2010. This is indeed good news for people in Kuching. This goes to show that community policing plays an important role in ensuring peace and harmony as well as the safety of the people," he said.
He also urged the public to become the eye and ears for the police and to report any suspicious activities or characters in their area.
Late last month, on 21 December, Kompleks Kota Raya faced a sudden mob attack when a group of about 20 people barged in armed with helmets and sticks and attacked a mobile shop vendor
