Taiping police have picked up eight suspects to help them probe Monday’s night clash between two groups of men, leaving several injured, including passers-by and bystanders.

kamunting_clash_nizar_05_09060229Larut Matang district police chief Raja Musa Raja Razak told Malaysiakini that following the incident, police picked up three suspects and five more in follow-up operations yesterday and today.

“The suspects are aged between 20 and 30 plus and we have got a remand order from the court for the eight suspects ranging from four days to seven days,” said Raja Musa.

He said more details on the suspects will be given at the district police headquarters tomorrow at 9am, adding that the situation in Kamunting is back to normal.

However, police as a precautionary measure are maintaining their roadblock in the Expo area, which is part of the town centre where the incident occurred.

In the incident on Monday night, two groups clashed over a misunderstanding at a cybercafe near the Expo area.

This incident led to a retaliation which spilt onto the streets as emotions ran high and many innocent bystanders and passers-by were injured.

Contract worker first to be discharged today

Malaysiakini met three of the injured bystanders and passers-by at Ward 14 of the Taiping General Hospital today.

One of them was 19-year-old building contract worker G Sathiasilen working in Simpang. He was the first to be discharged today.

kamunting_clash_02_09060229His injuries included five stitches to his head, 10 stitches to his right hand and a parang attack on his left hand that nearly severed his little finger.

He said that he was talking on his mobile to his friend outside his house on Monday night and at about 11.30pm about 100 motorcyclists on about 50 motorcycles roared past him.

Thinking that they were 'mat rempits' involved in a road race, he did not pay much attention.

Suddenly one of them turned around his motorbike and came rushing at him. Jumping from the motorbike, the youth attacked him with a parang.

“The youth chopped at my head and my right arm, but I managed to kick him away. But he attacked again and aimed his parang at my neck and I blocked the blow with my left hand and in that attack, I nearly lost my little finger,” Sathiasilen said.

Luckily for Sathiasilen, a police patrol car appeared and the youth fled on foot leaving behind his motorcycle which was seized by the police later.

The police then summoned an ambulance and took him to the emergency ward of the Taiping General Hospital.

Parang attack at Restoran Sim Sim

Another victim, a 28-year-old building contract worker in Kamunting, M Raja, was having supper with his three friends at Restoran Sim Sim when about 70 bikers approached them and one of them struck the table with his parang.

kamunting_clash_police_03_09060229“My three friends escaped very fast but I was a bit slow and he aimed the parang at my head, but I managed to ward off the blow with my right hand.

"Then I ran for my life and hid among some bushes until the youths left the area,” Raja said.

“Later I approached a police patrol car that was coming in my direction and they sent me to hospital for treatment, he said.

The third victim is a 40-year-old lorry driver, Jaya Kumar, who had gone to the market to make some purchases for his home at about 9pm that night, when he was attacked by about 20 bikers.

“I suffered injuries to my head and it took 15 stitches to close the parang wound and also I had to have another eight stitches to close the wound on my left leg,” he said.

He managed to escape to his house where his wife, Liew Sia Mei, 27, called for an ambulance at 9.10pm.

“The ambulance only came an hour later at 10.10pm while my husband was bleeding from his wounds,” said an angry Liew.

Also seen in the same ward was a 27-year-old jobless injured suspect who was handcuffed to his hospital bed with a police officer watching over him.