Charges Dropped

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP):

Malaysian prosecutors dropped attempted murder charges against 31 ethnic Indians Monday, a move likely to soothe the minority community, chafing over complaints of racial discrimination in this Muslim-majority country.
They were produced in court where prosecutors said all charges are being abandoned against five of them. Prosecutors also dropped an attempted murder charge _ punishable by life in prison _ against the remaining 26. In exchange they pleaded guilty to causing mischief during a disturbance, which is punishable by up to five years in jail
The 31 were arrested on Nov. 25 when more than 20,000 ethnic Indians demonstrated in the streets in an unprecedented public show of anger in defiance of a government ban. They were charged with attempted murder for a non life-threatening head injury to one policeman, provoking an international outcry.