A sucker punch for RM1,000: What’s the value of dignity in Malaysia?

 

Letter to editor

WHEN the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court handed down a RM1,000 fine yesterday (Nov 4) on a police officer who punched deaf-mute e-hailing driver Ong Ing Keong on his right cheek five months ago, many Malaysians were left scratching their heads. What? RM1,000? That’s it?

No jail time – at least a deterrent sentence to prevent similar incidents in the future – nor mandatory community service but just a one-time fine that costs less than a used smartphone. What message does this send to the public? Apparently, a punch in the face costs only a slap on the wrist in Malaysia.

This isn’t just any ordinary case. Ong isn’t your everyday driver; he’s a disabled person who is part of the OKU (Orang Kurang Upaya) community – someone who already faces challenges most of us can only imagine.

On that fateful day in May, Ong simply didn’t understand a hand signal from a police officer on duty.

For that, he got a fist to the face; his assailant – the very person entrusted with “protecting” Malaysians – walked away, some half a year after the incident which was by all accounts, an open and shut case.

Biggest joke

It’s almost comedic how the court justified this sentence. Lance Corporal Muhammad Taufik Ismail, 32, the officer in question, apologised through his lawyer. He’s a devoted son, the kind who takes care of his elderly parents, so says his lawyer.

Naturally, that somehow means throwing a punch at someone to the face should not merit anything more than a RM1,000 fine? Shouldn’t his role as a caretaker make him more compassionate rather than aggressive?

Let’s talk about other cases for a moment. A desperate father, unemployed and struggling to pay his child’s hospital bill, steals a phone. He gets jail time.

Someone shoplifts a few tins of Milo and ends up behind bars. But here, we’re talking about a police officer, a person in uniform, deciding that an OKU driver’s face could use a little “re-decorating” – and he’s let off with RM1,000.

Is this what Malaysia has come to? RM1,000 is barely a deterrent, let alone a reflection of remorse.

It’s loose change to the privileged, possibly peanuts to someone who’s connected to the uppermost strata in society. And yet, we’re expected to believe this fine reflects the dignity of a disabled person, a fellow Malaysian?

Perhaps the most puzzling part is the “voluntary” apology. Taufik’s lawyer read it out in court but Ong never even had the chance to witness his attacker apologising.

No face-to-face acknowledgment, no personal apology – just a lawyer doing what’s required by the book. Was this really an apology, or just a formality?

Ong’s case is a glaring symptom of a system where accountability seems optional and token fines replace genuine consequences.

One can’t help but wonder: if an ordinary citizen had struck a police officer, would they get away with paying a small fine? Or would they be paraded around as an example of “no tolerance” for violence?

It’s not just about the RM1,000. We are sending the wrong message – that certain lives, certain people, don’t matter as much. And as long as that’s the case, how can we claim to live in a fair society?

Thomas Victor
Kluang

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.