A man accused of stealing a mobile phone in Low Yat Plaza, an act which sparked unrest over the weekend in the capital, has claimed trial at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court.

 

Shahrul Anwar Abdul Aziz, 22, was accused of committing the crime at 4.47pm on July 11 at the mall which specialises in electronic goods.

He was charged under Section 380 of the Penal Code for theft which carries a maximum jail term of seven years, a fine or both.

Magistrate Nur A'minahtul Mardiah Md Nor set bail at RM3,000 with one surety and August 14 for mention.

Public prosecutor Suhaimi Ibrahim had initially asked for bail to be set at RM5,000.

Changed plea

Defence attorney Shaharudin Ali sought a lower bail on grounds that Shahrul Anwar was unemployed and was taking care of his hearing impaired parents.

Shahrul Anwar had initially pleaded guilty when the charge was read out, much to his lawyer's surprise.

"The accused guilty plea is a surprise to me. I had advised him otherwise," Shaharudin told the court.

It appears that Shahrul Anwar did not fully understand what was being asked and changed his plea to not guilty after the magistrate read out the charge for a second time.

The alleged phone theft had spiraled into a vicious online hate campaign after videos of Shahrul Anwar's friends exacting revenge in Low Yat Plaza became viral.

Simmering down

On Saturday evening, seven of Shahrul Anwar's friends attacked several people in Low Yat Plaza. Mall staff retaliated by assaulting the group.

The next day, at least 200 people, claiming to represent Malay NGOs, in protest outside Low Yat Plaza. Many uttered racist and derogatory remarks.

Eventually, the group became unruly and assaulted several people including journalists from Chinese newspapers.

According to the police, 18 people were arrested for rioting.

By Monday, there were no further violence.

 

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