Penang courts fined a cashier who reached public notoriety earlier this month after he punched and spat on a public bus driver for not stopping at a non-designated spot.
Lee Chee Wee was fined RM1,000 (US$238) in the December 14 incident, having been found guilty of causing voluntary hurt. Earning only RM1,600 (US$380 per month at his job), and representing himself, he asked the courts for leniency during mitigation, telling them he looked after his elderly parents. He had faced a sentence of up to a year in prison, along with an RM2,000 (US$476) fine.
Earlier reports described the alarming incident in detail, where Lee demanded to be let on the bus at a random intersection, banging on the door. Refusing to stop, the suspect physically pried open the bus door, and began yelling at the driver. Shortly after, he launched a physical assault that included spitting on the hapless victim. Bus passengers intervened and broke up the fight. Video footage of the incident went viral, shocking netizens.
Having been restrained, the driver then locked the bus doors, and drove the suspect to Weld Quay on the island where the bus depot is located, where the man was subsequently arrested.
