Shahrul Anuar, 23, said although he went to the plaza with a friend, Mohamad Khairul Azmi Mazlan, also 23, he had gone to the mobile phone shop alone.
When suggested by Deputy Public Prosecutor S Malini Anne that he had stolen the mobile phone and fled the shop while the salesman turned around to take a free gift, the accused disagreed.
In reply to his lawyer Ihsan Busyro Zakaria, the accused said he had held the mobile phone in his right hand.
“I asked (the salesman) how much it cost and he said RM780. He asked how much I would pay and I punched the number 750 into the calculator.
“Then, he said he wanted to give me a free gift, but I said I didn’t want to buy and I put the mobile phone on the display counter and left,” he said in his defence.
Shahrul Anuar said he left the shop in haste as he did not want the salesman to force him to purchase the device.
However, he said while taking the escalator down, he was stopped by a group of six men who later began to beat him up.
“I was dumbfounded. All of a sudden, there were these men pushing me aside and beating me up,” said Shahrul Anuar who said he was later taken to the security room.
In reply to Ihsan Busyro on why he followed them to the security room, Shahrul Anuar said: “…because I didn’t want to get beat up, so I followed them.”
Meanwhile, Khairul Azmi told the court that Shahrul Anuar had asked him to walk around with him on the upper level of the plaza, but he refused and preferred to wait on the ground floor.
Not long after that, he said he heard a commotion near the escalator and when he approached it, he saw Shahrul Anuar being beaten up by several men.
“I put my arms around Shahrul Anuar and told the men to back off and be patient and suggested that we talk it over at the security room.”
Shahrul Anuar was alleged to have stolen the mobile phone worth RM800 at Techasia Boutique, Low Yat Plaza, Bukit Bintang, at 4.47 pm on July 11 last year.
He was charged under Section 380 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and fine upon conviction.
On Feb 24, he was also charged with causing grievous hurt to a mechanic using a machete in Jalan Jelatek on Feb 20.
The trial before Magistrate Nur’Aminahtul Mardiah Md Nor continues on May 4.
– BERNAMA