KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — A vegetable seller who stabbed his employer on the head with a machete in protest over the latter’s action in slapping him for being rude to a colleague was today sentenced to two years in prison by the Sessions Court here, for voluntarily causing grievous hurt.

Judge Datuk Nu'aman Mahmud Zuhudi handed down the sentence on E. Thomas Gabriel Gomez, 22, who pleaded guilty to the charge.

He was charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon on A. Utaiya Sangkar, 33, at the Kuala Lumpur Wholesale Market here at 11pm last July 23.

The charge, under Section 326 of the Penal Code, provides an imprisonment for up to 20 years and is liable to fine or whipping, if found guilty.

Gomez was ordered to serve the jail sentence from his arrest, which was last July 24.

Deputy public prosecutor Abdul Khaliq Nazeri prosecuted, while the accused was represented by lawyer K. Komagen. — Bernama