Indian restaurant owner dies after attack in Johor - Singapore's Online Community

**Voodoo Vince** · 25-02-2008, 11:42 AM

Indian restaurant owner dies after attack in Johor

THE owner of a popular 24-hour restaurant in Little India died after he was set upon by a group of assailants last Thursday in a small town near Segamat - the latest victim of a violent attack in Johor.

Mr Rahim Rajah, 42, who owned the CMK restaurant opposite Mustafa Centre in Little India, died less than 48 hours after the brutal attack which left him with severe head injuries and broken ribs.

He was mere steps away from home when the unknown assailants set upon him last Thursday night in Cha'ah, a small Johor town, where Mr Rahim was said to be planning to open a branch there, The New Paper reported on Monday.

His son, Mr Kathar Sharif Rahim, 17, said he was told by his Malaysian uncle that a passer-by had found his father after the attack and called the police.

With the help of other passers-by, the man helped Mr Rahim to his house and called his friends.

Mr Kathar said his father's friends did not realise how serious his injuries were.

'My dad had internal injuries, so his friends thought he was okay when they saw him,' he told The New Paper.

'They cleaned his face and put him to bed. It was only when he vomited blood the next morning that they realised how seriously he was hurt.'

Mr Rahim's siblings, who live in Cha'ah, about an hour's drive from Johor Baru, rushed him to the nearest hospital in Batu Pahat.

His family brought him back to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore when they found that the hospital in Johor did not have the facilities to handle his serious injuries.

Doctors found Mr Rahim had a broken skull and blood clotting, and told his family that even if they operated, he had only a slim chance of survival.

Mr Rahim died at about 4.20pm last Saturday.

He leaves behind his wife and three children.

The motive for the attack is still unknown and the Malaysian police are investigating. They are understood to have made two arrests, said The New Paper.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2...ry_210152.html

**TotalNV** · 25-02-2008, 11:48 AM

oh dear.... dat's so sad.... it's so unsafe there in Johor now.... sighx.... aren't our neighbor doing anything?

**TheShah** · 25-02-2008, 11:52 AM

WTF...no known motive...???...It could be they are doing it for fun??...If this case not solve...it goes how bad a situation there now...

**rudeboyfiz** · 25-02-2008, 11:53 AM

malaysia getting dangerous...

**Voodoo Vince** · 25-02-2008, 12:02 PM

It is always dangerous as usual.

**Voodoo Vince** · 26-02-2008, 01:54 PM

Unaware of extent of injuries, friends simply clean him and put him in bed, then... He wakes up, vomits blood and slips into coma

By Celine Lim
February 26, 2008

HE was mere steps away from home when unknown assailants set upon him.

Mr Rahim Rajah's popular Little India restaurant was closed over the weekend after the terrible tragedy. Pictures: FRANCIS LEE

The vicious attack last Thursday night in the small Johor town of Cha'ah, near Segamat, left Mr Rahim Rajah, 42, with severe head injuries and broken ribs.

The owner of the popular 24-hour CMK restaurant, located opposite Mustafa Centre in Little India, was in Malaysia as he had plans to open a branch there.

But the business trip may have ended up costing Mr Rahim his life.

He succumbed to his injuries less than 48 hours after the attack.

His son, Kathar Sharif Rahim, 17, said he heard from his Malaysian uncle that a passer-by had found his father after the attack and called the police.

With the help of other passers-by, the man helped Mr Rahim to his house and called the latter's friends.

But Mr Rahim's friends did not realise how serious his injuries were.

Kathar Sharif said: 'My dad had internal injuries, so his friends thought he was okay when they saw him.

'They cleaned his face and put him to bed. It was only when he vomited blood the next morning that they realised how seriously he was hurt.'

Mr Rahim's siblings, who live in Cha'ah, about an hour's drive from Johor Baru, rushed him to the nearest hospital in Batu Pahat.

Around 11am on Friday, his wife, Madam Fatimah Mhd Ibrahim, 43, received a call about her husband.

Kathar Sharif said: 'My mum told me, 'Your dad has been assaulted and he's in really bad shape.'

He said the motive for the attack is still unknown and the Malaysian police are investigating. They are understood to have made two arrests.

He said: 'I don't know if the assault was planned or not. As far as I know, my dad didn't have any enemies.

'Every time someone goes to him for help, it doesn't matter how much they need, he'll help them.'

He added that nothing was missing from his father's belongings, so robbery was unlikely to be the reason for the attack.

When mother and son arrived at the hospital at 4pm on Friday, they found Mr Rahim in an observation room.

Kathar Sharif said: 'When I saw my dad, I thought he'd be all right. His head was not bandaged so I thought it was not that serious.'

But it turned out that his father had slipped into a coma by then.

He said: 'My mum was crying and talking to him, asking him to wake up, but he didn't respond.

Mr Kathar Sharif

'She said when she touched his hand, he moved it. But that was the last movement he made.'

The family was told that the hospital did not have the facilities to handle Mr Rahim's injuries as it was too serious.

Kathar Sharif said calls were made to other hospitals in Malaysia, but to no avail.

In the end, the family called for an ambulance to take Mr Rahim back to Singapore for treatment.

But doctors at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital told the family that Mr Rahim had a broken skull and blood clotting.

Even if they operated, he had only a 1 to 2 per cent chance of survival.

Kathar Sharif said: 'After that, we were just waiting for his last breath.'

Mr Rahim was pronounced dead in Mount Elizabeth Hospital at 4.21pm on Saturday.

He leaves behind his wife and three children - Kathar Sharif, a 16-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter.

Kathar Sharif said his sister has not been told of her father's death.

He said: 'We took her to see dad in hospital. Now, she keeps asking my mum when she can see him again.'

News of Mr Rahim's death has spread in the community. The New Paper Hotline caller Theva Churairaju, 54, a private investigator, said he heard that Mr Rahim had been attacked over a football betting dispute.

However, Kathar Sharif said he was not aware that his father, a football fan, had betted on the sport.

He said that the results of the post-mortem confirmed that the cause of death was severe head injuries.

STILL REELING
'I still can't believe that my dad died like this, not a natural death,' he said.

'I last spoke to him on the phone two Saturdays ago. He got angry with me when I told him I was watching football.

'He said I should be at the shop, and I promised I'd go the next morning.'

He said his father had objected strongly when he wanted to quit school two years ago to concentrate on the family business.

But Mr Rahim later gave in when he saw that his son was serious.

Kathar Sharif said his father had even planned to retire and leave the business to him after his national service.

He said his father had never closed the restaurant a single day since it opened in 1999.

However, the shutters have been down this past Saturday and Sunday, and will remain so until after Mr Rahim's burial.

Kathar Sharif said: 'I can't open the restaurant, my dad's dead. The workers are lost too as he's like a father to them.'

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...57359,00.html?

**sunnydays** · 26-02-2008, 10:55 PM

there has to be a reason why they attacked him, cannot be just out of the blue they don't like his face then attack him. but if that's the case, then its absolutely despicable. i suppose its a warning that we need to be careful always when in foreign territory.