The case of a hawker refusing to sell corn to 'Jeling People'; after the incident, the Malay hawker and his Indonesian wife who were arrested, pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of intentional public disturbance and overstaying in the country, and were respectively fined and imprisoned.
Sepang District Deputy Police Chief Superintendent Shankar Ba stated that the 64-year-old Malay husband and his 52-year-old wife each faced a charge on Friday in the Sepang Magistrates Court.
He issued a statement saying that following the Attorney General's directive, the hawker was charged under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code (intent to cause public fear and disturb social peace) and alternatively under Section 268 of the Penal Code (public nuisance).
He added that the hawker's wife was charged under Section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (illegal entry without valid documentation).
“After the charges were read, the couple pleaded guilty, with the husband fined 400 Ringgit and the wife sentenced to 3 months imprisonment.”
The statement urged the public to maintain ethnic relations and refrain from any provocations touching on religion and race that could stir racial sentiments and disrupt social harmony in the country.
Recently, a video circulated on social media showing a roasted corn stall in Kota Warisan, Sepang, displaying a sign saying “Sorry, we do not sell to Jeling people,” which caused public outrage; although the hawker later apologized publicly, he was still detained by the police for investigation.