Published: Wednesday August 14, 2013 MYT 3:22:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday August 14, 2013 MYT 7:11:47 PM
Police searching for man who allegedly assaulted wife in lift
BY HAFIZ MARZUKHI AND VICTORIA BROWN
A screencap of the video showing the man kicking the wife in the back.
GEORGE TOWN: Police are searching for a 36-year-old man for allegedly assaulting his wife in an elevator, the video footage of which has gone viral on Facebook.
State CID chief Senior Asst Comm Mazlan Kesah said Wednesday the police were investigating the case under Section 323 of the Penal Code.
He said the women suffered injuries to her head, arms and body.
The video surfaced right after another video, which showed a man abusing his wife and beating her with a hammer, went viral.
The latest video, which appears to be CCTV footage, shows a man beating his wife in an elevator with his two children present.
A screenshot from the video which showed a man beating his wife in the lift of a private hospital in Penang witnessed by their two children. — Pic taken from Facebook
The footage was unloaded to Facebook by a Mohd Yunus AR, who claimed to be the woman's brother.
The video shows a family walking into the elevator with the man holding on to the young boy's hand, and the woman the girl's.
The woman is then seen stroking the girl's hair when the man suddenly turns and slaps her forcefully on the face, which causes her head to knock into the elevator wall.
The man then repeatedly hits his wife while the two young children look on.
As the elevator doors open, the man kicks the wife in the back, causing her to fall out of the lift.
The daughter runs out to her mother, but quickly runs back into the lift as the man approaches the woman aggressively once again.
He then closes the elevator doors on the woman and calmly takes the children to another floor.
"The police must take action immediately in every case to prevent further abuse - and possibly death," said Yu Ren Chung, an advocacy officer with the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO).
"In the past few months, three horrific deaths resulting from domestic violence have been highlighted in the media," said Yu.
"Two of these women had made multiple police reports before they died, but did not get the protection they needed and deserved," he said.
Yu said that even though some abuse cases may not leave visible injuries, the interpretation of "domestic violence" in the Domestic Violence Act 1994 also includes the threat of physical violence.
"It is important for her (the woman in the video), and others who face abuse, to know that it's not their fault and that help is out there," said Yu.
Yu says that WAO counsellors are ready to help and can be contacted at 03-7956 3488.
