The Kajang Magistrate's Court today denied a seven-day remand application by the police to hold former New Era College student Lim Ken Zhi.

Contacted later, his lawyer KK Wong confirmed that the court had ordered the police to release Lim, 22, by 5pm.

And he was released as ordered at 4.55pm.

yap sin tian punched by former student police arrest court blur version 140109 03 It could not be ascertained if Lim will be charged for allegedly causing grievous hurt to New Era College senate chairperson Yap Sin Tian, who is also the president of Chinese education group Dong Zong.

Kajang deputy police chief Toha Abdullah told reporters that Lim would be charged if there were enough evidence.

He also said that Lim was released on a police bail.

If charged and found guilty, Lim could be slapped with a seven-year jail sentence and a fine.

Upon being released, Lim did not answer any questions posed to him by the journalists. Instead the first thing he did was to ask for water to drink.

yap sin tian punched by former student police arrest court blur version 140109 04 He was received by an elderly couple, believed to be his parents.

On Sunday, Lim, who holds a diploma in drama studies, had punched the educationist, resulting in the latter suffering a fractured cheekbone during a convocation ceremony at the college.

Photographs of the incident, which was captured on video, appeared in almost all the major dailies the next day.

Laywer: My client surrendered

yap sin tian new era college punched in the nose by student 130109 04 It is speculated that the incident could be related to the ongoing tussle between the college’s former principal Dr Kua Kia Soong and Dong Zong.

Kua, however, has denied any role in the incident and called on all quarters to stop the speculation. He also expressed regret over the matter.

The police have said there was no evidence to suggest that Lim had acted upon the instructions of any quarter.

Meanwhile, Wong also refuted the police claim that Lim was arrested . He claimed that his client had surrendered to the police.

Yesterday, Kajang police chief Shakaruddin Che Mood said Lim was arrested around 3pm and police were about to wrap up their investigations into the matter.

When asked if Lim had surrendered or was arrested, Toha refused to say anything.

He merely said that there was one witness who recognised Lim as the alleged perpetrator but the police officer refused to identify the witness.