Lynn D'Cruz
Uploaded on the 7th of February, this video depicts an allegedly savage attack on a motorcycle thief at Giant hypermart in Kelana Jaya.
The 5.15 minute video begins with someone screaming and asking another “Kau mau mati ke?” (Do you wish to die?).
It eventually shows a man of petite stature clad in a brown t-shirt cowering in a corner of a switch board room being beaten up with brute force by two security officers.
He was shouted at and chided for trying to steal a motorcycle. He was reprimanded for being a Malay and trying to shamelessly steal from another Malay. He was called the most ferocious of foul words.
The security officer of Giant in Kelana Jaya was seen to be enraged, walking back and forth screaming at the thief, beating him up, walking away only to turn back to continue the assault. The man was mercilessly punched over his head, slapped, kicked on his head with boots.
He was asked multiple times if he wished to die.
At the scene, there were three security officers clad in white uniforms, two of which were dishing out the violence. One seem to be orchestrating the assault and the reporting of the incident to the authorities.
Another man with dark blue uniform was on the phone oblivious to the larger crime in plain sight beyond the theft. None of the two bystanders did anything to reduce the violence taking palce.
Two foreign workers were seen to be helplessly walking back and forth to check on the man being beaten.
From what is understood from the video, the thief tried to steal the motorbike belonging to one of the security officers.
Towards, the final minute of the video the security officer was seen to take a huge toilet roll and used it to beat the man on his head.
Video sparks online debate
Viewed over 101,385 times over a span of less tan 72 hours, the video stirred a restlessness among the viewers. Many were disgruntled about the violence. Some felt matters should have been handed over to the police. Some felt the actions of the security officers were justified and wrote “The moral of the story – don’t ever steal.”
Out of the 1,259 comments made on the video on Youtube
Viewer diviyarupini93 wrote : I know what the guy did was wrong but beating him up like that is not right. They should just call the police first and let the police deal with him.
Another viewer allief588577 simply wrote: manusia tiada hak menghukum (Human beings have no right to execute punishment).
A sympathetic AaronTan9 wrote : I think im the oni (only) person thats going to say this in English….I feel sorry for this dude!!!
A large number of viewers though that the thief deserved the beating he got.
new86517 wrote: You are gifted with hands and legs and u choose to steal instead of getting a job, what a shame.
Video shooter responded
Komunitikini managed to get hold of the owner of the video AutoRabak
who agreed only to an interview via email.
He confirmed that the incident happened on the 7th February 2012 at approximately 4.46pm. He said that the incident went on for about 15 minutes.
When asked if the guards called the police, the eye witness said that he was unsure if any police were involved.
“I went into Giant after shooting the video to buy some stuff, but when I came out after 10 minutes – they guards and the guy had dispersed but no police were in sight.”
He also referred to Malay Mail’s report yesterday which carried a report saying that the security officer has filed a police report, which was later denied by the Petaling Jaya OCPD Arjunaidi Mohamed.
On a personal note, AutoRabak who witnessed the whole incident said: “The whole incident was a shame. Should the guards have wanted to beat the thief up, they should have done it discreetly. Not in public.”
He claimed that the man was seen bleeding from his face and nose but was not seriously injured.
CJMY
