Phone shop man: He ran away with handset

Low Yat Plaza rampage started when sales assistants in another shop stopped man from running away

KUALA LUMPUR: Mobile phone salesman See Ming Ho, 28, who was personally affected by the Low Yat Plaza rampage on Saturday said the brawl had started after a phone was taken from his shop by a customer.

Bernama, describing him as the owner of the mobile shop, said “the man pretended to want to buy a Lenovo S860 phone from me. When I went to take the free gifts (which came with the phone)..he fled with the handset”.

See said the theft took place at 5.30 pm.

“I shouted and was heard by one of the staff from Oppo, who prevented the suspect from leaving the building,” he said, according to Bernama.

However, The Star Online reported that the Lenovo S860, with a retail price of RM799, was not found on the man when he was caught with the help of the Oppo workers.

See’s Lenovo shop is on the upper ground floor of Low Yat Plaza, a popular destination in Bukit Bintang for those seeking digital devices, cameras and computers. The Oppo shop is on the ground floor.

The Star Online said See had lodged a police report on the theft at the Dang Wangi police station.

See said many people were claiming that the dispute started because the Oppo people had sold a fake phone to the man, but that’s not true. “They only helped me catch him — he was stealing from my kiosk,” See was quoted as saying.

He said the man returned later in the evening with a group of friends to attack the Oppo salespeople.

Police said about RM70,000 in damage was caused to the Oppo shop when the youths went on a rampage, smashing showcases and overturning cabinets.

One man is in custody and police are seeking the others in the group.