KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Seven individuals, including a woman, were each fined RM2,000 by the Magistrates’ Court in Tumpat today after pleading guilty to a charge of rioting that left a driving instructor injured last month.

Utusan Malaysia reported that the accused — Azli Mamat, 48; Mohd Azaki Mamat, 42; Mohd Khadri Ghani, 52; Ahmad Faizal Juhari, 35; Muhammad Alif Hakimi Abd Hamid, 22; Muhammad Izzat Romli, 25; and Nor Hasida Mamat, 38 — entered their pleas before Magistrate Wan Ashrul Afham Mohamad Azmi.

According to the charge, they were members of an unlawful assembly that used violence in pursuit of a common objective, thereby committing the offence of rioting.

The incident allegedly took place at SKMS Driving Academy in Berangan at about 4.30pm on May 24.

They were charged under Section 147 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, which carries a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Mahfuzah Hamizah Mohd Ariff prosecuted the case, while lawyer Shamsul Baharin Abdullah represented all seven accused.

Mahfuzah Hamizah urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence to serve as a deterrent.

In mitigation, Shamsul Baharin sought a lenient sentence, saying his clients were self-employed with no fixed income, had shown remorse and had cooperated throughout the investigation.

The court fined each accused RM2,000, with a six-month jail term in default of payment. All seven paid the fines.

According to the facts of the case, a driving instructor at the academy was approached by nine individuals who arrived in three vehicles to discuss allegations that he had made derogatory remarks about a female student.

The discussion allegedly turned violent after the instructor became fearful and shut his car door upon seeing one of the men — said to be the student's uncle — retrieve an item from his vehicle.

Several others then allegedly kicked the instructor from behind, causing him to fall, before assaulting him repeatedly on the face and body.