KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran today urged the public prosecutor to charge the man who beat up an elderly security guard at an Ipoh condominium last year with murder in the wake of the victim’s death last Friday.
A suspect was subsequently arrested and prosecuted. The court is scheduled to decide on the accused next month.
Kulasegaran wants the prosecution to withdraw the assault charge and push for a murder charge and fresh proceedings against the accused now.
“As the victim has succumbed to death due to the injuries sustained, I urge the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) to request the police to do a thorough investigation again and reclassify this case on a murder charge.
“In view of changed circumstances namely the death, the earlier case in court need to be withdrawn and the aggressor be possibly be charged for murder. Nobody is above the law and no one should take the law into his own hands,” he said in a statement.
The Opposition lawmaker also said the wife of the deceased security guard Thava Sagayam approached DAP for legal help and that the party had agreed.
He recounted that the victim Thava was bedridden for seven months following the incident before his unfortunate death last week.
“Let’s all stand up to condemn this killing,” he added.
Yesterday, Perak police chief Commissioner Datuk Mior Faridalatrash Wahid said police will revert to the prosecution for the next course of action.
The accused was charged on January 6 and is due to be sentenced on September 9 for the initial charge under Section 335 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing grievous hurt on grave and sudden provocation over the December 29, 2020 assault.
The case made headlines after closed circuit camera footage showing the assault was leaked on social media and went viral.
According to news reports, the assault happened at a condominium in Ipoh.
The condo security guard Thava Sagayam, then 63-years-old, was beaten up by a visitor, reportedly after being barred from using the condo swimming pool.
Widely-shared video clips of the incident showed a man approaching the guard aggressively, raising his hands and pointing fingers before slamming a table on the guard who fell on the floor.
The assaulter is seen pacing around the motionless guard while a young child stands nearby.
The assaulter leaves the scene after lifting the victim’s head and sees something below it
In his statement today, Kulasegaran also highlighted that the violence took place in front of a child, whom he said was the offspring of the assaulter.
“The child as can be seen in the video could have been traumatised by the irresponsible behaviour of the aggressor,” Kulasegaran said.
