In May, Malaysians were outraged by the incident where a deaf e-hailing driver was assaulted by one of Johor regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim’s bodyguards. The case was also allegedly handled horribly by the police. Following that, His Royal Highness Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim called for justice to be served for the deaf e-hailing driver.
Now, 2 and a half months after the incident, it appears that still, no action has been taken.
According to a report by MalaysiaNow, NGO Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) held a press conference today (August 14) to release dashcam footage of the incident, which shows the bodyguard punching the deaf e-hailing driver.
Lawyer, N Surendran who is representing the deaf e-hailing driver, 46-year-old Ong Ing Keong, said that the dashcam footage had been provided to the police on May 28.
“In the face of evidence as clear as that, no one has been brought to justice for this assault upon Ong. It is clearly someone from the escort who did it. His identity is known to the investigation body. Why have charges not been brought?”
“We urge the authorities, the police, the Attorney-General’s Office and the government to take the matter seriously,” N Surendran said.
Ong, with the help of a sign language interpreter, shared that he is still waiting for justice to be served.
“I really hope the suspect will be brought to justice. I have shown my face to the media. Why has the suspect not been revealed? I feel very depressed for the prolonged silence over this incident,” he explained.
In the video shown, a man could be heard yelling at Ong to move as he waited for his e-hailing passengers at the St Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
At one point, the man opened his driver’s side door to tell him to move before closing the door. Ong, who is deaf, rolled his window down to figure out the commotion, only to then be met with a quick punch to the face by a second man, through his open window.
After this incident, Ong has lodged 2 police reports at the Brickfields police station. He was allegedly later approached by a palace representative who apparently requested him to withdraw his reports.
You can check out the dashcam footage here:
Do stay tuned for more updates.
