RISING VIOLENCE: Student slashed and punched while heading back to hostel
CAIRO: A MALAYSIAN student was seriously injured when he was slashed several times on the back and punched on the nose by a group of five robbers on Sunday night.
Mohamad Mohd Azlan, 21, was attacked at 11pm local time while walking back to the Malaysian student hostel.
The incident, which took place about 200m from the Malaysian student hostel in Haiyul Asyar, left Mohamad bleeding from the back and nose.
The victim’s friend, Abdullah Afif Said, 21, said the incident occurred when a group of students, including the victim, were walking back to their hostel, without realising that they were being followed by a few local men.
“I felt something was amiss and I started walking faster when two of the robbers grabbed another student, Abdul Rahman Ahmad.”
Three other men then grabbed Mohamad.
“I realised they wanted to rob us and ran away.
“That was when Mohamad was punched and slashed,” said Afif.
He added that Mohamad and Rahman managed to get away from the robbers and sought help from students at the hostel.
Mohamad was rushed to a clinic by the hostel management.
The robbers managed to flee the scene with Rahman’s wallet and handphone.
The Malay Association in the Arab Republic of Egypt president Abdul Aziz Ali said the incident was an isolated case, as it had been a long time since any similar incident had occurred.
“Incidents such as these arose during the political crisis after (former Egyptian president) Hosni Mobarak was ousted and tens of thousands of prisoners were released by the government to create havoc.
“So far, the situation in Cairo is still under control,” he said.
He advised Malaysian students in Cairo to be extra careful, and to not venture out of their hostels after 9pm to avoid similar problems.
-NSTP
