Fasting slap: Senior pleads guilty, contests charge, gets DNAA

Summary

• A senior citizen admits to the court that he slapped a non-Muslim youth for eating in public during Ramadan.

• However, the court rejects Abdul Razak Ismail’s guilty plea after he contests the charge, court then grants DNAA.

• UPDATED 1.50PM | DPP tells court the accused will be recharged at a later date.

An elderly man who slapped a non-Muslim for eating at a convenience store in the daytime during Ramadan has pleaded guilty at the Johor Bahru Magistrate’s Court this morning.

However, the court rejected the guilty plea as the accused, Abdul Razak Ismail, contested the facts stated in the charge against him.

According to Bernama, Magistrate A Shaarmini ordered the 65-year-old to appoint a lawyer to defend himself.

Shaarmini: Since you didn’t admit the facts of the case, I hereby reject your guilty plea and you have to appoint a lawyer to enter defence.

Razak: Then, I will just plead guilty. I have a wife to support.

Shaarmini: Razak, the court cannot accept a conditional guilty plea such as “I do not admit the facts of the case exactly, but I want to plead guilty because I have a responsibility”. That is a conditional guilty plea, the court cannot accept such a guilty plea. I will set a mention date since you did not admit the facts of the case, for you to appoint a lawyer.

Then in a sudden turn of events, the prosecution informed the court that it had received instructions to refer the case to the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC).

The court thus ordered a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA).

DPP Nur Fatihah Mohd Nizam told the court that Razak would be recharged later.

Razak was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt to a youth at a convenience store inside a shopping mall in Johor Bahru.

The offence was allegedly committed at about 3.45pm on March 16.

Section 323 of the Penal Code provides a maximum one-year jail sentence or up to RM2,000 fine, or both for the offence.

Slapped several times

On Sunday, the victim, who identified himself on X as Elijah, shared two video clips of the alleged incident.

"I was just eating normally and the uncle asked if I am Chinese or not. I said yes, because that’s a normal question.

"Then he wanted me to show my IC, even though we cannot just show our IC to strangers," he said in a series of postings on X.

"After that, he asked me if I’m Muslim or non-Muslim, and he scolded me for eating (in public) during the fasting month, even though I am not Muslim and I did not disturb him.

"He even slapped me several times," the victim added.

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