Activist Khalid Ismath said it would be too lenient of the police to charge the suspects with merely rioting. Under Section 147 of the Penal Code, the maximum penalty for the offence was two years’ jail and a fine.

“The suspects beat up the lorry driver and left him with 14 stitches,” he said after lodging a police report at the Jalan Travers police station here.

He said he lodged the report to urge police to investigate the case under Section 325 of the Penal Code for causing grievous hurt. The maximum punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt is seven years’ jail and a fine.

Khalid also urged the police to be more transparent in their investigation.

“I hope the police can reveal the suspects’ names. This can embarrass the suspects,” he said.

Last Thursday, Nasrul Fahmi Zulhilmi was assaulted by a group of five men over a minor vehicle incident at the car park of a condominium in Bukit Antarabangsa.

While reversing his lorry, Nasrul had hit a Mercedes Benz, causing the number plate to fall.

The brutal beating he received was video recorded and widely shared on social media.

Ampang Jaya police chief Hamzah Elias was reported as saying that both the attackers and the victim did not file a report because they had decided to settle the matter among themselves.

But Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar later said the attackers should not be allowed to get away just like that because “the country has laws to protect the innocent from being victimised”.

Police subsequently detained a man involved in the incident and have taken statements from 15 people so far.

Yesterday, 200 lorry drivers gathered at the Sungai Besi toll plaza to show solidarity with Nasrul.

At the event, Nazrul confessed he was terrified of his assailants who were “big time gangsters”, according to his employer, who had also warned him against antagonising them by reporting the incident to the police.

Nazrul filed a report only after much persuasion by the police.