Man probed for obstructing officers
Eatery owner slides under car to stop towing
BUKIT MERTAJAM: A 60-year-old restaurant owner, who slid under his car to stop the local council from towing it away, is being investigated for obstructing a public servant from carrying out his duty.
Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) officers and a number of policemen had to pull the man out from under his son’s gold Mercedes Benz in Jalan Danby here on Thursday.
In their police report, the MPSP officers said they spotted the car parked in the motorcycle parking lot in front of the man’s restaurant at about 11.30am.
One of the officers blew his whistle thrice for the vehicle to be removed and then locked one of the tyres when there was no response.
The restaurant owner then came out looking angry and refused to pay the fine to have the car tyre unlocked.
“He was told that his car would be towed to the MPSP office in Jalan Betik, but he still refused to pay. The officer subsequently called for a tow truck at 2.40pm.
“The man then slid under the car to pre- vent it from being towed away. He was forcefully removed by the policemen and taken to the Bukit Mertajam police station,” the officers stated in the report.
Central Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said the policemen and MPSP officers tried to advise the man to come out from under the car, but he refused.
“Several witnesses said he was rude to the MPSP officers and prevented them from carrying out their duties,” he said.
The restaurant owner has been released on police bail and the case, under Section 186 of the Penal Code, will be referred to the state deputy public prosecutor’s office for further action.
MPSP councillor Michael Tan said there were signboards in the area warning motorists that it was a towing zone.
“The MPSP enforcement personnel were carrying out their duties and I urge motorists to deal with such situations in a tactful manner as this kind of behaviour will not resolve anything.
“If found guilty, the man could be jailed up to two years or fined up to RM10,000,” he added.