A 44-year-old Singaporean chef was reportedly beaten up by three men with baseball bats in Johor Baru, Malaysia on Wednesday. According to reports, the chef had approached the men with a parang or knife to recover a debt of RM500 (S$161).
"I just wanted to scare them, that's all, and I didn't hurt them. But they picked up baseball bats and hit my head," Fong Teck Keong told Shin Min Daily News.
Shin Min reported that the chef got to know the alleged attacker at a games centre about six months ago when the latter borrowed RM500 from him.
Fong spotted his borrower with two other men coming out of a nightclub on Wednesday and asked for his money back. But, he insisted that he was only trying to retrieve the money he owned. He did not have any other intension.
According to Shin Min, the incident took place at around 7.30 am at Jalan Sutera outside Taman Sentosa. Johor Baru South district police chief Asst Comm Sulaiman Salleh said the police went to the scene and found a 44-year-old Singaporean man lying by the road. He was taken to the hospital with injuries to his head and body.
Several videos of the assault were seen online that showed Fong being beaten by men with baseball bats. Fong can be seen trying to retaliate but is outnumbered.
Fong was given more than 30 stitches for the wound on his head and was on drips. He also said that he did not have money and was waiting for his family's help to return to Singapore soon.
The police are investigating the case of voluntary hurt caused by dangerous weapons. If the suspects are convicted, then they will be jailed for up to three years, fined and or whipped.
