ACP Roslan Bek Ahmad
KUCHING: Police have arrested a man who assaulted a female mobile phone shop worker and threatened to spark a KL Low Yat-type incident after being told his cracked phone screen was not covered by the warranty.
District police chief ACP Roslan Bek Ahmad said the 25-year-old man was picked up by a Criminal Investigation Department team led by ASP Lee Chee Keat from a rented room at Green Hill at 5.35pm on Monday.
“We had obtained the suspect’s address from the warranty card of his mobile phone, but found that he had gone into hiding.
“We were able to contact him and asked him to surrender, but he did not do so. We were then able to trace him to a rented room and arrested him before placing him in the lockup pending further investigation,” said Roslan.
He said the suspect, who is from Kampung Batu Kitang, also tested positive for methamphetamine and will be placed under remand for investigation under Section 325 of the Penal Code for causing hurt.
“We will also be looking to charge him for drug-related offences since he tested positive for drugs at the time of arrest,” he said.
The incident in question, which went viral on social media, happened last Saturday at 7.10pm, when the suspect went to the mobile phone shop to have his cracked mobile phone screen replaced.
Upon being told that the warranty did not cover cracked screens, and that he would have to pay a total of RM130, the suspect became angry and uttered the words “You tahu tentang kes di KL Low Yat (You know the case at KL Low Yat) and punched the female worker in the face, causing her to lose a tooth.
Calling the incident an isolated case, Roslan urged mobile phone owners to fully understand the terms and conditions of their warranties and not resort to violence over something so trivial.
“If you feel you are being taken advantage of, report it to the relevant authority such as the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism.”
On another issue, Roslan said police here are on alert for any potential terror-related threats following the tightening of security in Kuala Lumpur and other cities in the country.
“Of course we are monitoring (the situation) but I cannot reveal our strategies. However, I wish to assure the public that Kuching is one of the safest cities in the country and there should be no cause for alarm,” he said, adding that intelligence gathered thus far did not indicate any potential threat from terrorists.