A trader has been sentenced to four months in jail for assaulting and threatening a 70-year-old man in a road rage incident, overturning an earlier fine.
SHAH ALAM: The High Court here has sentenced a trader to four months in prison for assaulting and threatening an elderly man in a road rage incident. Judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin set aside the Kajang Magistrate’s Court’s earlier decision to impose a RM5,500 fine on 52-year-old Saiful Adli Yusof (pic).
The court recalled the case under Section 323 of the Criminal Procedure Code to replace the fine with a custodial sentence. The incident occurred along Jalan Cheras-Hulu Langat on February 8.
During proceedings, the 70-year-old victim, Liew Khoon Foo, read an impact statement describing severe trauma. He said he sustained serious injuries, including six stitches to his tongue, which made eating difficult.
“I fear he may hold a grudge and come after me again. I feel unsafe because he is extremely violent,” Liew stated through a Mandarin interpreter. He appealed to the court for an appropriate sentence.
Deputy public prosecutor Shahrul Ekhsan Hasim argued the respondent’s actions were extremely cruel. He noted that viral footage showed the victim was both kicked and punched.
“This country has laws. The respondent’s conduct amounts to reckless road rage and bullying,” Shahrul Ekhsan said. He urged the court to reassess the sentence to instill a sense of accountability.
Saiful Adli’s lawyer, Muhammad Syakir Haznal, submitted that his client did not immediately assault the victim. He said a discussion took place after Saiful Adli knocked on the car door.
Speaking from the dock, Saiful Adli admitted he lost his judgment after the incident. He claimed his multi-purpose vehicle was struck by the victim, causing his three-day-old child to slip from his wife’s arms.
“I had honked, but he fled, ran a red light, and we pursued him for about 500 metres. At the time, I was on my way to find a breast pump,” he told the court.
On February 10, the magistrate’s court had fined Saiful Adli RM5,500 after he pleaded guilty to two charges. Magistrate Fatin Dayana Jalil also ordered eight months’ imprisonment in default of payment.
He was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code for causing hurt, which carries a maximum one-year jail term or a RM2,000 fine. A second charge was under Section 506 for criminal intimidation, punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.
The Sun Malaysia
