KUCHING: Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah is unhappy with the incident in which a local youth allegedly smacked a female tourist’s buttocks last week.
“I got very angry when I read about the case. Things like this are not good news to tourists as it can deter them from coming in,” said the Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister.
“They would think that Kuching is not a safe place. So I hope that the authorities (enforcement officials) make sure that in cases like this, the guilty party gets reprimanded.”
He said this during the Queen Tribute Concert (QTC) press conference at Waterfront Hotel here on Tuesday (June 28).
For the record, according to the charge, the accused allegedly committed the act against the female victim in her 40s with the intent to outrage her modesty.
The offence was allegedly committed on June 22 around 7.45pm on the stairs of a homestay in Jalan Bukit Mata here.
It was understood that the victim and her friend were walking towards the living room before the accused, who was walking behind them, suddenly hit the victim hard on the buttocks, causing her to scream.
The accused then fled but is said to have been chased and stopped by two motorcyclists who happened to be passing by.
However, during the case reading on Monday (June 27), the accused pleaded not guilty in the Magistrates’ Court.
