Ticket confusion sparked ruckus

They came from across the Causeway to support their football team - Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) - against the LionsXII.

But their trip earlier this month came to nothing when they could not enter Jalan Besar Stadium.

Some of the fans turned rowdy and police officers were deployed to control the situation.

Four Malaysians were each jailed for a week yesterday after pleading guilty to behaving in a disorderly manner at Horne Road, near the west entrance of the stadium at around 9pm on May 20.

They are: Roslina Mohd Bakri, 25, who is self-employed; guest service executive Raja Abdul Hadi Raja Rozhan, 25; hotel front desk executive Haridass Manoharan, 26; and hotel concierge staff Norkhaizan Jelani, 28.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Nicholas Lai said that a team of police officers saw about 30 JDT supporters outside the stadium at 8.30pm and they were making a lot of noise.

Senior Station Inspector (SSI) Jasni Yahaya, 49, who was in plainclothes, identified himself as a police officer to find out what the matter was.

One of them told him that they were not allowed to enter to stadium despite having tickets.

SSI Jasni checked one of the tickets and found that it was meant for home fans.

Away supporters are not allowed to enter the section with these tickets.

CONTINUED RUCKUS

He tried to explain this to the group, but they continued with their ruckus.

Officers from the Special Operations Command (SOC) and Division Tactical Troop (DTT) were deployed at 8.45pm to control them.

Roslina, Raja Abdul Hadi, Haridass and Norkhaizan started shouting and chanting JDT team slogans at around 9pm.

They ignored repeated warnings from the officers to disperse.

The four, who were not represented in court yesterday, were arrested for disorderly behaviour.

DPP Lai urged District Judge Salina Ishak to sentence them to a week's jail each.

He said: "There would be a real risk that attacks could have been made on persons on the basis of nationality."

In their mitigation, Roslina and Norkhaizan pleaded to be let off with a fine.

The judge agreed with the prosecution and said it was "not a simple case" of disorderly behaviour.

She said the situation could have escalated.

Roslina's half-brother, Mr Roslan Zainal, 44, later told The New Paper that Roslina and the three men are friends.

The driver said his half-sister and her friends had arranged to buy the tickets from a man who was selling them online at $50 each.

They met the seller outside the stadium and were shocked when they could not enter the stadium with the tickets.

Another JDT supporter, public health assistant Mohamed Kamil Kamal Basha, 28, is also accused of behaving in a disorderly manner at Horne Road that night. His pre-trial conference will be on June 9.

First-time offenders convicted of disorderly behaviour can be jailed up to a month or fined up to $1,000.