Metal bar attack: Couple fears for safety as suspect still on the loose

 

A couple who was attacked by a metal-bar welding assailant has been living in fear after the suspect skipped a court date nearly two months ago when he was supposed to be charged.

Authorities had issued an arrest warrant for the 45-year-old man when he did not turn up at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court on Nov 21 last year, however, he was still in the wind.

He is suspected of being involved in the crime captured on video at a car park at Taman Desa, Selangor, on the morning of July 31 the same year.

The victims, M Grace Arun Mathy and her husband K Pathamanathan, told Malaysiakini that they were highlighting the matter now as they feared for their safety as well as the public’s with the suspect still on the loose.

Grace explained that on the day the suspect was supposed to be charged, the couple was at the court but the man was a no-show.

The 49-year-old said the prosecution then applied for the Magistrate's Court to grant a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).

Unlike a full acquittal, a DNAA still opens the way for the suspect to be charged in court later if he is apprehended.

"My husband suffered injuries to his left face as a result of the attack and had to undergo a facial procedure.

"However, he has been suffering complications due to the surgery, and last month underwent a CT scan," she said, adding that they are still waiting for the scan results.

"We were told there was a warrant of arrest against him but we were later informed he could not be located and is out of the country, thus the DNAA," she said.

Livelihood also affected

Since then the couple said they’ve gone back and forth with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) for updates on the case.

"We are still waiting for an (AGC) update, this case deserves a sense of urgency."

Grace added that the situation is compounded by their unstable financial situation, which made it difficult for the couple to engage a lawyer.

Before the attack, she said they were in the process of setting up their consultancy, however, after her husband's injury, their business was unable to proceed.

"We were forced to rely on the Putrajaya Legal Bureau's advice, which we only paid RM10 for," Grace said.

Checks by Malaysiakini on the judiciary's online cause list showed that the suspect's case was listed before the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court on Nov 21 last year.

A government source confirmed that the suspect did not attend court proceedings that day, resulting in an arrest order.

Malaysiakini is withholding the identity of the suspect as the person has not been formally charged in the criminal court.

The portal is also attempting to contact the AGC for a response on the matter.

Video of attack

In early August last year, the one-minute and 26-second video clip of the incident went viral on X.

The media reported the police confirming that a 45-year-old male suspect was detained on the day of the incident and that an investigation was conducted for voluntarily causing hurt using a weapon.

Reports said the clip showed a man clad in shorts and armed with a metal bar, approaching another man who is seen picking up a traffic cone and shoving it in the former’s direction to seemingly protect himself against the assailant.

The man in shorts continued approaching the other man, who was seen backing away.

The former then swung the metal bar, hitting the victim until the latter fell.

The two could be heard exchanging profanities before the attacker tells the person holding the camera to watch their words and then hits her with the bar, causing her to drop the recording device on the ground. - Mkini