PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Three Malaysian students on holiday in Japan have come under heavy criticism from netizens after a video of them displaying bad behaviour at a guesthouse in Osaka went viral online.
One of them has since apologised.
A Facebook user with the handle Ramadhan Sinclair claimed that he was one of the three shown arguing and behaving rudely to a staff member at the Vitti Lodge & Family Apartment guesthouse.
"I Ramadhan wish to apologise for my party who caused trouble in Osaka this week," he said in the Facebook post on Saturday (Aug 19).
A six-minute video clip of the incident that was uploaded by Ema Vitti, the Italian owner of the guesthouse, showed the students arguing and behaving rudely with a staff member at the guesthouse.
The cause of the argument is unclear, though it was believed to have stemmed from the Malaysian staff member telling the students about guesthouse rules not permitting them to cook past a certain hour.
One of the students then gets angry and confronts the staff member, while another student appears towards the end of the video and punches the kitchen wall in anger, causing a visible crack.
Not only did the three students damage furniture at the lodge, they also allegedly behaved disgustingly by defecating in the shower.
"Malaysian guests visiting Osaka! Brake the kitchen wall and shit in the shower room," Vitti said in a separate posting accompanying snapshots of Facebook pages belonging to the three students.
Several unsanitary pictures of the faeces caught in the shower room drain were also posted as evidence of the act.
Vitti's page was subsequently flooded with comments from angry Malaysians, who expressed disgust at the behaviour of the students while some also apologised to the Italian "on behalf of all Malaysians."
Ramadhan also wrote: "I also wish to apologise to the Malaysian people, especially Qaiyum (the one wearing blue) because I committed violence against him and used foul language."
Qaiyum is believed to be the staff member who was confronted by one of the students who were being told about guesthouse rules which didn't permit any cooking past a certain hour.
The apologetic student added:"We three will also be responsible for the damage caused and we are ready to pay for damage incurred by the management.
"I also apologise to the individual who had to clean the excrement from the shower although I myself do not know who did it."
He vowed that he would become a better person after reflecting on the incident and to have a better sense of morality.
In a separate posting that is being shared widely, reportedly from the guesthouse' lawyers, the owner is now seeking damages from the students or their benefactors.
The claims include damage to the wall, bathroom, furniture, and also for lying about their flight tickets.
It was reported that Vitti had originally taken pity on the students and housed them at his apartment after they claimed to have missed their flight back to Malaysia and had no cash to purchase new tickets or find a place to stay.
Claims have also been made against the trio for roughing up the Malaysian staff member.
