The man who was roundly defeated in a one-sided fistfight with a shopkeeper in Penang, Malaysia has since uploaded a video addressing his naysayers, in what might charitably be called a "post-fight conference".
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Sporting a black eye, the defeated but still conscious man explained his side of the story in Tamil to another man off-camera.
A video of the fight went viral on social media on Jun. 5, 2024.
One version shared to Facebook by user Ary Aery on Jun. 5 was watched over 8.5 million times.
The video showed the man attempting to twice punch the shopkeeper, identified as Wu (transliteration), only to succumb to a flurry of blows from the shopkeeper on both occasions.
He then hit Wu on the back of the head with a helmet in a sneak attack outside the store.
The man was, however, knocked out after that cheap shot.
Claims there was history
In the address to camera, the man claimed that he knew Wu from before.
"Thirteen years ago, there already was a conflict between myself and this Chinese man. We had fought before. It was reported and settled," he said.
Speaking about his recent fight with Wu, he then explained that he was told by his friends to buy some things from the shop.
According to the man, Wu asked him, "What are you staring at?"
He said he asked Wu, "I want to buy something, why are you talking like this?"
Wu then apparently replied, "You are not satisfied? Let's go one by one."
The man then said that he felt compelled to fight upon hearing that from Wu.
He said: "A man, if he asks another [man] that, what will we do?"
Apologised for being drunk
The man then apologised for being drunk, and for getting into the fight.
He said: "A man, if he asks another man that, what will we do? Even if we're drunk, and I really was drunk, and for that, I apologise, okay? To everyone, I apologise, but if someone calls us [to fight], can we run? You tell me?"
The man then made a stunning, and perhaps dubious, revelation.
"I, too, am a karate black belt. If I was steady, I would have destroyed him, okay? The Chinese man was a taekwondo black belt. Okay."
Wu started learning taekwondo at the age of 17 and had even won a 1996 championship held in Penang, it was reported by Malaysia media.
Admonishes social media users
Once done apologising, the man took aim at the social media users who caused the video of the fight to be widely circulated.
"I am saying it, those of you making this viral, right, leave it," he said.
The man then called for the support of the Tamil community at large.
"Tamil people should only support Tamil people," he said.
He also had a stern message for TikTok users: "Going on to TikTok and making all this stuff viral is unnecessary work. I am not such a top individual. Those who understand will get it. Those who don't won't get it. Only those without anything better to do are making these TikTok videos viral. Go back to your jobs and see to your work."
The man behind the camera then told the man to apologise to everyone once again.
"I apologise, and I am saying again, don't make this viral," the man added at the end of the video.
Top photo from prabu_360_/X & Ary Aery/Facebook