KOTA KINABALU: Five men, four of whom identified themselves as transgender women, were each fined RM2,000 or sentenced to four months in jail in default by the Magistrate’s Court here for rioting at Api-Api Centre, an incident that went viral two months ago.
Aldimin Kasim, Nikazwan Sharuddin, Azmil Ali, Steven Chin Ying Lok, and Junidi Joi Abdullah pleaded guilty before Magistrate Dzul Elmy Yunus to assaulting Amiruddin Hasimuddin and Shah Amier Andyka Abdullah on Feb 25.
Police investigations revealed the assault stemmed from a misunderstanding between Aldimin and Amiruddin earlier that day at ClubMix Penampang, which escalated during a meeting arranged at Api-Api Centre.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});The defence pleaded for leniency, citing the accused’s remorse and personal hardships, while the prosecution sought a deterrent sentence, noting that four of them only possessed birth certificates.
Magistrate Dzul Elmy advised the group to learn from the incident and warned against letting minor disputes spiral into violence, before all five paid their fines.
