BUKIT MERTAJAM, Nov 4 — National boxer B. Perabagaran received 50 stitches after being slashed and assaulted by about 20 unknown assailants in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur on Oct 28.
Perabagaran, 21, who hails from Prai, suffered cuts and bruises in his arms, legs and stomach when he was pounced upon by the assailants who were armed with knives and bottles, at about 10.30pm, after he came out of a bathroom which was situated about 200m from where he had dinner with three friends.
“On the night of the incident, I and three of my friends — all boxers in the SEA Games squad — went to a food court in Kampung Baru, situated near our training centre in Kramat.
“After paying the bill, I went to the bathroom which was about 200m away and when I came out, about 20 assailants all dressed in black and armed with Rambo knives and liquor bottles attacked me.
“One of them even teased by showing the blood that was oozing out from cuts in my body and said ‘With your condition like this, how are you going to go to the SEA games, do you think there are no boxers in Kuala Lumpur who are better qualified than you?’. They seemed drunk and also used foul language,” said Perabagaran, who works in the Royal Malaysian Navy.
Perabagaran said though he felt very weak, he managed to punch one of the assailants but could not do anything to avoid their assaults. He added that the assailants fled in a car when his friends came to his aid.
“I was later taken to Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) for treatment and that dashed my hopes of representing the country in the Laos SEA Games as it will take about six months to recover and return to boxing,” he said.
The gold medal winner at the Sukma Games in Kedah and Terengganu for the 75kg category said the attack was an attempt by some to prevent him from going to Laos.
“I feel these people were jealous because I was selected for the SEA Games and was about to undergo 41 days of training in Thailand starting Oct 29. It was also sad that nobody from the National Sports Council came to visit me in the hospital,” he said.
He added that after being discharged from HKL, he went back to his house in Perai and lodged a police report at the Seberang Perai Tengah police station here today.
“I also want the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the NSC to investigate the incident and take the necessary action on the culprits as I do not want other boxers or athletes to suffer a similar fate,” he said. — Bernama
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