Police station mobbed after school fight
(The Straits Times) PONTIAN, April 23 — A mob of about 1,000 laid siege to a police station in Pejan Nanas, Johor, on Monday after a Malay teacher was allegedly assaulted by a Chinese man in a national school.
The police station was locked up and a Federal Reserve Unit squad was deployed to prevent the crowd from storming the building.
The police were armed with assault guns while others carried shields or tear gas canisters as they formed a protective ring around the police station.
According to Johor Criminal Investigation Department chief Amer Awal, the problem started when a 13-year-old Chinese student was slapped by a 17-year-old Malay student last Friday after he accidentally brushed the older boy's shoulders.
The Chinese boy is the grandson of a well-known MCA leader, a news website reported.
Sin Chew Daily reported that the Chinese student was transferred to the school less than a month ago and had a history of playing truant. He was once suspended from school for 14 days, the paper reported.
After the assault, the younger boy's father turned up with three friends at the school on Monday to settle the matter but was stopped by the Malay teacher, who is believed to be the father of the student who had hit the boy.
A fight broke out between the two, and the teacher later lodged a police report claiming that he sustained injuries to his face, chest and back.
The 36-year-old father of the Chinese boy was arrested while he was making a report at the Pekan Nanas police station.
When news of the incident broke out, the teacher's friends and relatives began to gather at the police station.
Scuffles erupted between the angry crowd and the police while the boy's father was being transferred to the Pontian district police headquarters in a van.
The crowd tried to stop the van from leaving, with some people throwing objects at the vehicle, smashing one of its windows.
The police are investigating the slapping incident while the father, who has been remanded, is being investigated for trespassing and causing offence in a group.
Following the incident, SMS messages were circulated among Pekan Nanas residents warning them of racial tensions and telling them to stay at home.
Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Wee Jeck Seng urged the police to come down hard on those responsible for circulating the SMS messages.
