Malaysian village vigilante justice

FMT:

Woman’s car set ablaze after villagers assume she is drunk

The torched car at Tasek Gelugor, Penang. Police are now huntng for the men who set fire to the woman’s car after the accident 

BUTTERWORTH: A vegetable seller who accidentally crashed into two motorcycles at Tasek Gelugor last night had her car set ablaze some three hours later after villagers suspected that she was drink driving.

However, police said the driver, a 56-year-old woman, tested negative for alcohol consumption.

She told investigators she crashed into the motorcycles while trying to avoid a stray animal crossing the road.

North Seberang Perai district police chief Noorzainy Mohd Noor said the woman was on her way back to her home in Bumbung Lima after delivering vegetables when the accident happened at 9.50pm.

The woman, while driving on Jalan Ara Kuda, told police she had swerved to avoid a stray animal, and crashed into two motorcycles ridden by two 14-year-old boys, he said.The woman’s car at the time of the accident at 9.50pm on Friday at Tasek Gelugor, Penang.

Noorzainy said as a result, the teens’ Honda Wave and Yamaha LC motorcycles were badly damaged.

Both boys also broke their right legs and were taken to the Seberang Perai Hospital for treatment.

He said the woman left her Kia Sephia car at the scene to make a police report. However, the car was torched around 2am.

Noorzainy said police were now looking for those responsible for torching the car.

He said police have opened an investigation into careless and inconsiderate driving under the Road Transport Act 1987. The offence carries a RM10,000 maximum fine and a jail term not exceeding 12 months.

He said torching of the car was being investigated under Section 435 of the Penal Code. Those convicted of the offence of mischief by fire or explosive substance can be jailed up to 14 years and fined.

Noorzainy advised the public not to take the law into their own hands. “Call the police and let us handle it,” he said.

Well, that's village vigilante justice for you. It makes no difference whether the village is predominantly of Malay residents or of Chinese.

In the old days, there would be highwaymen around in remote areas, whether on horseback or otherwise, in Asia or Europe. Their latter days 'descendants' still exist in Malaysian kampongs today, wakakaka.

Just try running your car or motorbike over a chook on any remote or village road in Peninsula Malaya, then stop your car because you're a responsible citizen, as you want to explain to the owner as to who had been responsible for the chook's demise. Mate, you will soon discover those villagers are modern highwaymen (though not on horsebacks, wakakaka) who will insist you are the guilty party, regardless, and they'd come to the "negotiation" with batang2 kayu, changkol, rakes etc.

And don't be shocked by them demanding an outrageously exorbitant sum of money of, say, RM500 for a RM5 chook (value of a chook in my days in Malaya). Well, you can either bloody pay up or be bashed by about a dozen hot-headed male villagers out for a bit of wild fun.

Now that's modern highway robbery, Malaysian style, wakakaka.

Another way of getting bashed up by villagers, wakakaka, would be to court one of their belles, especially if the unfortunate accused 'Romeo' comes to see or fetch 'Princess' in a car. Villages are normally very conservative, tribal, jealous and also anti-city 'slicks'. Once I was courting one of those belles, wakakaka, and found (on my way out of the village) some very angry villagers (mostly belles themselves) with big staffs surrounding my car. I had to 'sweet talk' the leaders of those sweeties to avoid my car being bashed by those long big heavy murderous looking staff - yes, I shamefully played on their sweet nature - PHEW, wakakaka, maybe I have what Penang mateys would describe as a 'welfare face' which persuaded them to kesian me and let sweet naive innocent kaytee go (some even smiled at me), wakakaka again. 

At least all above could be solved with (example, in the case of the run-over chook) RM500, but as in the case of the above burnt car, there could be worse outcomes. That vegetable seller was lucky she went to make a police report or she might even have ended up with a worse fate.

Also read today's FMT's Curb vigilantism among rural villagers, says crime expert