KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 ― A Vietnamese woman who claimed to have been sexually harassed by an Uber driver in Penang is now in police custody to be investigated for alleged rioting with weapons.
Assistant court registrar Muna Maria Azmi issued a four-day remand order for the 43-year-old woman and three others aged between 27 and 32 who allegedly beat up the Uber driver last Wednesday, The Star Online reported.
All four are being investigated under Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting with weapons, punishable with a jail term of up to five years, a fine, or both.
The woman’s Malaysian husband and his acquaintance were taken in by the police yesterday and put under a four-day remand, similarly for investigation over rioting with weapons.
The 29-year-old Uber driver is being probed under Section 354 of the Penal Code for assault or use of criminal force with intent to outrage a person's modesty, punishable with jail up to 10 years, a fine or whipping, or any two combinations.
The Vietnamese woman had earlier this week claimed she was “ordered” to touch her Uber driver’s genitals after he flashed her during the ride on June 6.
The 29-year-old driver was assaulted with baseball bats the next day by the woman’s Malaysian husband and a group of men, believed in retaliation following her complaint.
