Crime reporter assaulted in Malaysia

Malaysian crime reporter Ang Kean Siang, a journalist at the local Guang Ming Daily Chinese-language newspaper, was physically attacked on December 30, allegedly by members of a local civilian voluntary patrol unit, after taking pictures of a woman who appeared to have fallen to her death from an apartment building in Penang state’s Georgetown city, according to local reports.

According to the reports, Ang was ordered to stop taking pictures and leave the premises by an unidentified man at the crime scene. He was later driven by another unidentified man to the voluntary patrol unit’s operations center in the city’s Perak Lane area, where he was beaten and kicked by four unidentified men. His camera was smashed during the assault, the reports said.

Voluntary patrol units in Malaysia are established and overseen by the state government.

Ang was treated for injuries to his face, chest, abdomen, and groin at the city’s Koh Guan Lee Hospital. A local Natseven TV report showed the reporter with facial injuries at the hospital. The report said Ang later filed a complaint at the Timur Laut district police headquarters.

A member of the patrol group, Lim Ah Chai, apologized for the attack, local media reported. Georgetown police spokesman Gan Kong Meng said the deputy public prosecutor would charge Lim under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt and Section 427 of the Penal Code for committing mischief and damage, according to local media. The police were also searching for another suspect in the attack, the spokesman was quoted as saying.