KUALA KUBU BARU, May 24 — The Magistrate’s Court here today set May 30 for mention to recharge an unemployed man who displayed a picture of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, during the recent Kuala Kubu Baru by-election campaign.
Judge Siti Fatimah Talib, sitting as a Magistrate, set the date when deputy public prosecutor Asmah Che Wan informed that the man, P. Ramasamy, 66, was not in court today and requested a new mention date.
“The court noted that the review application by the accused (Ramasamy) in the (Shah Alam) High Court dated May 23 has been allowed. The conviction and sentence (against the accused) have been set aside.
“The court set May 30 for mention of the accused’s presence,” said Siti Fatimah.
Earlier, lawyer L. Pavitra, representing Ramasamy, informed the court that she could not ascertain the whereabouts of her client today, but that he was still in Kajang Prison yesterday when the High Court decided on his review application.
Yesterday, Judicial Commissioner Dr Wendy Ooi Su Ghee dismissed Ramasamy’s review application and set aside his guilty plea when charged with the offence at the Kuala Kubu Baharu Magistrate’s Court.
She dismissed Ramasamy’s guilty plea on the grounds that he did not understand the effect of his action (pleading guilty) based on his mitigation and then ordered the case back to the Kuala Kubu Baharu Magistrate’s Court for trial.
Ramasamy pleaded guilty to the charge last May 6 at the Magistrate’s Court and was sentenced to one month in jail and fined RM3,000, in default 10 months imprisonment, for the offence.
The elderly man, who was then unrepresented, was ordered to serve the jail sentence from the date of arrest, on May 4.
He was charged with displaying a picture of the Malaysian King and carrying a Pakatan Harapan (PH) banner using a four-wheel drive around Taman Bukit Bunga at 5.40pm last May 4.
The charge, framed under Section 4(A)1 of the Election Offences Act 1954 for malicious intent, provides a jail term of not more than five years or a fine of not more than RM10,000 or both. — Bernama
