Rep: No student, teacher involved in school hall dinner 'alcohol auction'

Summary

• Pekan Nanas assemblyperson Tan Eng Meng says no students or teachers were involved in a temple fundraising dinner at a school hall last week, where 18 men were arrested.

• Police confirm four men pleaded guilty and were fined RM700 for committing an “affray”, while 14 others were released on bail with no action against the organisers.

No students or teachers were involved in a dinner held at a school hall recently, where some attendees were “drunk”, and ended with over a dozen arrests, said Pekan Nanas assemblyperson Tan Eng Meng.

He told Malaysiakini that he was present last Friday to officiate the event, which was a fundraiser for a temple, and where alcohol was served and also auctioned off.

“It is common in a new village to have Chinese-type schools (SJKC) that rent their halls for functions. This is managed by the school’s board of administrators.

“It did not involve the school headmaster. The board’s chair made a decision, and the hall is commonly used for various activities,” said the MCA Tanjung Piai vice-chief today.

On Sunday, Kosmo! reported that Pontian district police chief Shofee Tayib confirmed 18 men were arrested over a fracas at the event.

The report said that chaos erupted after the men threw chairs at the stage, purportedly due to unhappiness over the prices of the alcohol being auctioned.

Shofee told Malaysiakini that four men pleaded guilty yesterday and were fined RM700 for committing an “affray” under Section 160 of the Penal Code.

The remaining 14 were released on bail, and no action was taken against the organiser, he said today.

‘No one was hurt’

Commenting further, Tan said, “There were many guests at the temple dinner. Maybe some were drunk... the incident went viral, but no one was hurt.

“The issue is not about the event, but it is about the ones who were drunk. It (the event) did not involve any students or teachers,” he added.

Responding to the reported incident, PAS education bureau chief Fadzli Hassan condemned the auction of alcoholic beverages in a school as an “insult to an academic institution”.

In a statement, he urged the Education Ministry to launch a full probe and take stern action against all parties involved in approving a school hall to be used for such a purpose.

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