Drunken brawl ends in tragedy

JOHOR BARU: Police arrested a tourism consultant who was involved in a fight with a man who died.

“Both men were drinking at separate locations before the brawl,” said Johor Baru South deputy OCPD Supt Rupeah Abdul Wahid.

She said a report was received on the case involving the 40-year-old suspect and the deceased, 46, on Sunday morning.

She said initial investigations showed the victim, who was a marketing executive, had been drinking with his friends at a pub from Saturday night till the wee hours of Sunday.

After their drinking session, the executive and his friends headed towards an indoor parking area on the fifth floor of a hotel near the pub, Supt Rupeah said in a statement yesterday.

The marketing executive apparently went into an exhibition hall that was rented out for a tourism promotion programme, bursting balloons and tearing down a banner that was there.

Supt Rupeah said the consultant, who was drinking near the exhibition hall, shouted at the man for vandalising the place. This led to a heated argument and a fight.

The tourism consultant allegedly hit the victim on the face several times, causing serious injuries,

Supt Rupeah said hotel staff then called the police and the ambulance.

The victim was taken to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital where he died at about 5pm on Sunday.

Police arrested the suspect, who is one of the committee members of the tourism programme, at the hotel on the same day.

The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.