A morning workout in Ampang led by a martial arts trainer turned ugly after he was hit in the face with a liquor bottle for trying to stop a group of men, believed to be intoxicated, from beating a grasscutter.
In the 9am incident, Myanmar-national Nujumuddin Faizal Ahmad, 23, clad in a Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB) Waste Management shirt, was cutting grass near a gazebo at the Taman Tasik Tambahan recreation park where four men were drinking.
He alleged that the men suddenly attacked him, punching him in the head and almost hit him with a liquor bottle.
Muay Thai exponent Shareh Nasrullah Shareh Roselin, who had just completed a workout with his trainees at the park, was alerted and tried to stop the men from hitting Nujumuddin.
The men then attacked Shareh. The 28-year-old managed to defend himself but was hit in the face with a bottle. Shareh suffered deep cuts on his right cheek and chin. One of the assailants was also hurt.
Some of the trainees tried to defuse the situation by holding the suspects back.
Police were alerted and they nabbed three of the suspects while another fled. At least two KDEB Waste Management representatives were seen at the scene.
Witnesses say the men had been drinking at the gazebo before the training session started at 7am.
Pieces of a broken whiskey bottle were seen scattered at the scene.
There were also soft drink bottles and a plastic cup, believed to contain liquor, at the gazebo.
The gazebo where the suspects were drinking. Image by Twentytwo13
Regulars at the park said it was not uncommon to see people drinking alcohol at the park with boxes of liquor bottles often discarded there.
Shareh, who has competed in several Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts competitions in Malaysia and abroad, received outpatient treatment at the Ampang Hospital. He said he didn’t expect the suspects to be so aggressive.
“I was just trying to help (the grasscutter). I tried to stop them but got attacked instead,” Shareh said.
“I’ve defused fights in the past by reasoning with the concerned parties but this is the first time I’ve been hit in such a manner.”
“I’m just glad none of my trainees were hurt.”
