A lawyer urges the authorities to throw the book at the man who repeatedly kicked a suspected snatch thief with hands tied behind his back in a video that went viral recently.
PETALING JAYA: Law experts have unanimously condemned a vigilante, who was videoed continuously kicking an apprehended suspected thief in the face over an alleged snatch theft incident.
PKR leader Latheefa Koya today condemned the man for repeatedly kicking the suspected thief who had his hands tied behind his back.
“Allowing a vigilante or a civilian to arrest and beat up another is wrong. There must be some action taken. The police must take action against this particular person,” Latheefa told FMT today, referring to the video titled, ‘Thief Abused at Sri Petaling, Malaysia’, which went viral on Facebook yesterday.
“While the person who is arrested… this snatch thief, can go to court, it doesn’t mean that the person who beat him up can get off scot-free,” she added.
Criminal lawyer Shamsul Sulaiman also disapproved of the vigilante’s act and cited Section 99(3) and (4) of the Penal Code.
“Section 99(3) states there is no right of private defence in cases in which there is time to have recourse to the protection of the public authorities,” he said.
“Section 99(4) states the right of private defence in no case extends to the inflicting of more harm than it is necessary to inflict for the purpose of defence,” he added.
Meanwhile, lawyer Syahredzan Johan expressed understanding of the people’s anger towards snatch thieves but said: “What separates us from criminal is taking the law into our own hands.”
“This (kicking) is totally something, which to me, is unacceptable. The suspect has already been apprehended and there was no danger of him running away,” he said.
“I see no reason for piling on further misery. What should have been done was to have him handed over to the police and let the police do their job of investigating and charging him if there is enough evidence.
“Taking the law into your own hands is something that should not be condoned,” he added.
Latheefa echoed Syahredzan’s sentiments and believed that “nobody is allowed to punish or do anything to anyone who has been arrested.”
“Regardless he is a police personnel, officers from other enforcement bodies or civilians … physically attacking the suspect who was tied up is completely wrong,” she said.
“Action has be taken against him immediately. It doesn’t matter if he is the victim (of snatch theft), he should not have been allowed to go near the person (suspect),” she added.
Civil action
Syahredzan also said that the suspected snatch thief could seek legal recourse under civil law against his attacker regardless if he is the snatch thief.
“Being a suspect does not take away his rights and he should seek legal advice not just for what he supposedly did but what also for what he received (beating).”
The video was available on the video sharing site – Passiontab.com – since yesterday and it had since drawn international attention with most of the commenters condemning the act of the older man.
In the video, onlookers could be heard politely asking the man to stop kicking the youth but only to have their pleas brushed aside with: “What if it (snatch theft) happened to your family members? Then how?”
A concerned onlooker then attempted to shield the boy but failed with the man taking a shot at the youth’s eye, only to have the suspect furiously rubbing his face despite his hands were tied behind his back .
The man proceeded to kick the boy twice before calling him a “pig” before the video ended.
The source of the video is unknown.
PETALING JAYA: Law experts have unanimously condemned a vigilante, who was videoed continuously kicking an apprehended suspected thief in the face over an alleged snatch theft incident.PKR leader Latheefa Koya today condemned the man for repeatedly kicking the suspected thief who had his hands tied behind his back.
“Allowing a vigilante or a civilian to arrest and beat up another is wrong. There must be some action taken. The police must take action against this particular person,” Latheefa told FMT today, referring to the video titled, ‘Thief Abused at Sri Petaling, Malaysia’, which went viral on Facebook yesterday.
“While the person who is arrested… this snatch thief, can go to court, it doesn’t mean that the person who beat him up can get off scot-free,” she added.
Criminal lawyer Shamsul Sulaiman also disapproved of the vigilante’s act and cited Section 99(3) and (4) of the Penal Code.
“Section 99(3) states there is no right of private defence in cases in which there is time to have recourse to the protection of the public authorities,” he said.
“Section 99(4) states the right of private defence in no case extends to the inflicting of more harm than it is necessary to inflict for the purpose of defence,” he added.
Meanwhile, lawyer Syahredzan Johan expressed understanding of the people’s anger towards snatch thieves but said: “What separates us from criminal is taking the law into our own hands.”
“This (kicking) is totally something, which to me, is unacceptable. The suspect has already been apprehended and there was no danger of him running away,” he said.
“I see no reason for piling on further misery. What should have been done was to have him handed over to the police and let the police do their job of investigating and charging him if there is enough evidence.
“Taking the law into your own hands is something that should not be condoned,” he added.
Latheefa echoed Syahredzan’s sentiments and believed that “nobody is allowed to punish or do anything to anyone who has been arrested.”
“Regardless he is a police personnel, officers from other enforcement bodies or civilians … physically attacking the suspect who was tied up is completely wrong,” she said.
“Action has be taken against him immediately. It doesn’t matter if he is the victim (of snatch theft), he should not have been allowed to go near the person (suspect),” she added.
Civil action
Syahredzan also said that the suspected snatch thief could seek legal recourse under civil law against his attacker regardless if he is the snatch thief.
“Being a suspect does not take away his rights and he should seek legal advice not just for what he supposedly did but what also for what he received (beating).”
The video was available on the video sharing site – Passiontab.com – since yesterday and it had since drawn international attention with most of the commenters condemning the act of the older man.
In the video, onlookers could be heard politely asking the man to stop kicking the youth but only to have their pleas brushed aside with: “What if it (snatch theft) happened to your family members? Then how?”
A concerned onlooker then attempted to shield the boy but failed with the man taking a shot at the youth’s eye, only to have the suspect furiously rubbing his face despite his hands were tied behind his back .
The man proceeded to kick the boy twice before calling him a “pig” before the video ended.
The source of the video is unknown.
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