Couple 'shot at' in kitchen

KOTA TINGGI - A couple running a catering business narrowly escaped being hit by stray bullets in a shooting incident in Taman Daiman Jaya near here yesterday.

Kota Tinggi police chief Superintendent Mohd Nor Rasid said in the 9.40am incident, the couple were doing chores in the annexe kitchen of their house.

"They were 9mm bullets. The shots were fired from a distance and we believe the victims were not the intended target," he told reporters here.

Nor Rasid said another resident in the housing estate had witnessed a grey utility car without registration plates speeding off after the shots were fired.

He said police had increased patrols in the housing estate following the incident.

He urged those with information to contact the Johor police 24-hour hotline at 07- 2212999 or Kota Tinggi district headquarters at 07-8837222.

Although the couple were not harmed, they were left traumatised by the incident.

The caterer, who only wanted to be known as Jamuri, said he was in the kitchen with his wife preparing breakfast when they heard a loud bang, followed by a sound like a hard object knocking on the metal gate before a bullet fell on the kitchen floor.

Jamuri said he was thankful that he had installed metal grilles which had deflected the shots.

Meanwhile, in Pontian, a 40-year-old man was arrested for assaulting his wife following her refusal to grant him permission to marry a second time.

The ayam percik trader was arrested on Saturday after his 18-year-old daughter lodged a report claiming that her father hit her mother, 39, with a piece of wood, when she did not consent to him taking a second wife.

Under syariah, a Muslim man is required to get his wife's consent before marrying a second wife.

The trader was also accused of hitting his son, 17, who had invited his friends over to their house in Kampung Parit Wakaf, Tenggayun here for Hari Raya without permission. The suspect, who was allegedly intoxicated during the incident, became angry after the guests saw him in a drunken state.

Pontian police chief Superintendent Zahaliman Jamin said the case has been classified as voluntarily causing hurt.