Police Say Security Guard Who Was Beaten By His Supervisor Had Allegedly Molested A Woman

The guard, who is a Nepalese national and was named by the Embassy of Nepal in Malaysia previously, allegedly molested a 40-year-old Indonesian woman inside a lift of a mall prior to being beaten by his supervisor on 7 July, a video of which went viral on 30 July, prompting a public outcry.

During the alleged molestation incident, the security guard had "allegedly slapped the victim's buttocks when she was waiting for the lift", Malaysiakini quoted Nik Ros as saying, adding that the guard then "followed her into the lift, groped her private parts, and touched her neck".

"The victim reacted by kicking him," he told the news portal in a statement on Thursday, 6 August.

The 26-year-old was arrested after he went to give a statement at the Wangsa Maju police station at 5.30pm on Wednesday, 5 August. He was taken in by the Kuala Lumpur police D11 branch that specialises in investigating sexual, domestic, and child abuse cases. The branch is under the CID.

The incident where the guard was beaten by his supervisor happened at a parking lot of a condominium in Wangsa Maju on 7 July. However, it came to light only after the video went viral on 30 July.

In the video, the supervisor was seen physically assaulting the guard. He uses the baton to repeatedly hit the unresisting guard's back, arm, and legs. He is also seen punching the guard in the face.

Throughout the video, the guard does not retaliate while the supervisor continues his beating.

As he beats the guard, the supervisor is heard hollering in Bahasa Melayu: "What's your problem? Are you flaking off? You are here to work, why are you creating trouble. I am good to you, and yet you … (indistinct) Who do you think you are? Are you here to work or make trouble?"

Meanwhile, the person recording the video is heard speaking in Hindi, telling him that "it's enough".

The video's virality prompted the Embassy of Nepal to lodge a police report last Friday, 31 July.

Initially, there were conflicting claims about the supervisor's nationality with Wangsa Maju police chief Superintendent Rajab Ahad Ismail saying he is a Pakistani national and another former security guard saying he is a Malaysian Indian, the man was later revealed to be a Nepali national.

Following which, the 34-year-old supervisor was arrested on 3 August with help from the Embassy and was remanded on 4 August for further investigation under Section 324 of the Penal Code.

It turns out that after the alleged incident, the 40-year-old Indonesian woman confronted the guard and he apologised, following which she was said to have forgiven him, according to a report in Malaysiakini.

While she did not lodge a police report over the incident, the supervisor, when he learnt about it, decided to take action by beating the guard without the knowledge of the woman, Nik Ros said.

It is unclear when the alleged incident happened, but a report in Malaysiakini said it took place in July, while another report in FMT said the incident "had happened many months ago".

According to initial police statements, authorities weren't aware of who the security guard was and they were urging him to come forward to help facilitate police investigation into his beating case.

Then on 5 August, when he walked into the Wangsa Maju district police headquarters with his lawyer Sumitha Shaanthinni Kishna to give a statement about his case, the guard was detained by the CID's branch specialising in investigating sexual, domestic, and child abuse cases.

His lawyer Sumitha told Malaysiakini that he denies the sexual assault allegation.

"Yes, there was an allegation which we only came to know [on Wednesday] when IPK KL detained him after IPD Wangsa Maju took his statement. My client has denied the allegation. He is under remand and we will wait for the police to complete their investigation," she was quoted as saying yesterday.

What's not clear is when the report about the alleged sexual assault incident was lodged — before the guard was beaten by his supervisor on 7 July or after the video of the beating went viral on 30 July.

However, according to FMT, the lawyer said that the police told her that while the alleged sexual assault incident had happened many months ago, the woman only filed her report earlier this week.

He is being investigated under Section 354 of the Penal Code for assault or use of criminal force to a person with the intent to outrage modesty, ACP Nik Ros said.

Under Section 354, a person, if convicted, can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years or with fine or with whipping or with any two of such punishments.

In the meantime, CID is checking to determine if he has valid documents. According to the Embassy, however, both the guard and the supervisor are undocumented Nepali nationals.

Both the guard and his supervisor seen in the viral video are allegedly undocumented. They have both been arrested, the supervisor for beating the guard, while the later for an alleged sexual assault case.

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