5 jailed, 3 claim trial to rioting

SHAH ALAM: A family of eight men, who were charged with rioting, caused a scene at the magistrate’s court here when they confronted pressmen for covering the proceedings yesterday.

A man in yellow shirt, who claimed that he was one of the accused’s brother, confronted reporters at the public gallery and asked them to leave the courtroom, but he was ignored.

Later, another man, who claimed he was from Umno Selangor, approached reporters outside the courtroom asking questions about media presence in the court.

“Where are you from? I want to call your boss right now,” he said.

A group of men also tried to snap pictures of reporters inside the courtroom before they were stopped by policemen.

Five accused — Adlan Ramli, 37, Mohd Fiqri Abd Halim, 25, Shahbani Basia, 33, Azwan Kamar, 35, and Erwan Abd Ghani, 37 — were sentenced to five days’ jail and fined RM6,000, or 12 months’ jail, after they pleaded guilty.

Another three accused — Mohd Ridzwan Mahmod, 33, Abu Zar Md Yatim, 49, and Mohd Rizal Mahmod, 40 — claimed trial.

The eight were charged under Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting.

According to the facts, the victim, Mohamad Norariff Ab Latiff, was beaten up by a group of men before being poured with hot water at Kampung Paya Jaras in Sungai Buloh at 1am on May 20.

The 25-year-old man sustained extensive burns on the face and body, and was scared on the back, left shoulder and neck.