KUALA LUMPUR: A 58-year-old restaurant owner was fined RM2,000 for assaulting a woman who honked at him in the parking area of a condominium here, on Wednesday.
Cheras district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamed Mokhsein Mohamed Zon said the man pleaded guilty when he was charged in court on Thursday.
"Police received a report on Dec 16 from a 27-year-old victim who was assaulted by a 58-year-old man at the parking area of a condominium in Desa Petaling.
"The case is believed to have stemmed from a misunderstanding between the victim and the suspect.
"The suspect, who was arrested on the same day, was charged in the court under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt," he said in a statement today.
The victim, Snow Kwong, shared the encounter on her Facebook account.
She said the incident happened at around 8pm at a condominium when she was about to enter the parking area.
"As I was driving home towards the condominium's car park, a dark blue Mercedes Benz was obstructing the (entrance to) the car park. I waited for a few minutes before I started to honk and the car finally moved so I may park my car in my lot.
"After locking my car, I walked towards the staircase leading to the lobby. This uncle in his 50s walked towards me and confronted me, asking if I'm the one who honked? I admitted yes because I had waited a long time.
"Upon my reply, he was furious. Without warning, he grabbed my hair and continuously punched me on the head and face. I was terrified and ran behind a car to hide as I was alone and defenceless."
She further shared that the man walked away "as if nothing happened" when she called her father for help.
"I am unsure if I consider myself lucky, because one of the residents, who saw the incident, also happened to know the owner of the vehicle.
"Due to the beating, my mouth and gums were bleeding badly as I'm wearing braces. The impact of the punches on my head gave me a massive headache and swelling, I was worried that I may have suffered a concussion from the beating.
"My dad immediately rushed down to the scene. I told my dad the whole incident and I called 999 police for help. While waiting for the police to arrive, the guard managed to bring the attacker down to the carpark."
She said later that the man came down with a chopping knife hidden behind his back along with his two sons.
"My dad asked why did he hit me? He shouted back at my dad: 'She deserved the beating/punching because she honked at (me).
"He tried to assault me again, but his sons held him back. He threw/hid the chopping knife away the moment he saw the police arrive.
"The policemen arrested him and took him to the Salak Selatan Baru police station, while my dad drove me there to file a report. After making the report, we had to go to the Cheras District Police Headquarters to have a statement recorded."
The victim said upon arriving home, she was told by her mother that the man's sons had apologised and pleaded not to press charges because their father was stressed.