NOVEMBER 12 — The management and staff of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) condemn the attack on their CEO, Ms Melissa Ong by a man impersonating a Bernama reporter last Friday, November 8, 2019.
The incident took place at the Sunway Putra Hotel at the registration counter of the Russia Trade & Business Investment Forum during which Ms Ong was assaulted by the said man when asked for his media credentials. The man later behaved rudely by using profanities and took a photo of Ms Ong using his mobile phone without her permission. He then abruptly threw a punch on Ms Ong which resulted in a fractured nose. The perpetrator was later apprehended by hotel security and handed over to the police.
A police report has been made over the incident and Asli has been informed that the accused has now been charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Ms Ong.
The accused pleaded guilty to the charge under section 325 of the Penal Code (Act 574) which carries maximum seven (7) years imprisonment and shall also be liable to a fine upon conviction as read in the court and was granted bail of RM15,000. The Court has fixed November 18, 2019 to pronounce sentence on the accused.
We would like to thank all those who have come forward and facilitated Ms Ong directly or indirectly in the course of the incident and during the subsequent medical and legal processes. We also would like to express our gratitude to well-wishers of sympathy and concerns over the incident involving Ms Ong. Ms Ong is currently undergoing recovery process and wishes her privacy to be respected during this difficult period.
We would like to stress that we uphold zero-tolerance policy on any form of violence, especially against women.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
