Batu MP Tian Chua to appeal against High Court ruling

Batu PKR parliamentarian Tian Chua's lawyers said today they will appeal against the High Court ruling that has caused much confusion on his status as MP.

The decision to apply for a leave to stay the High Court ruling will end the impasse over his status as MP.

"This statement is issued to confirm that after taking instructions from Tian Chua, we will be taking the matter up with the Court of Appeal," Ranjit Singh said in a statement.

High Court judge Ghazali Cha had reduced the magistrate court's fine of RM3,000 to RM2,000 in default two months' jail to avoid a by-election.

Some legal experts say the amount imposed is enough to disqaulify Tian Chua as MP under the Federal Constitution while some disputed it.

"(As the issue) has been the subject matter of much debate in the public, the application for leave to appeal will be directed substantially against the decision of the High Court which upheld the conviction by the magistrate's court," said the statement.

'There's a lot of controversy'

Tian Chua had earlier said he will not be appealing against the ruling, but the Batu MP maintained that his about-turn was not to clarify on his post but to overturn his conviction.

"There's a lot of controversy. Our position is that we are not questioning that (the status of his post as MP).

"I will be filing against the conviction. I would maintain that there's no biting and the judge failed to examine the evidence. I'm not appealing against the sentence that would disqualify (me as an MP)," he told reporters in Parliament here.

Tian Chua has 14 days to appeal and his lawyer said they will be filing for a stay early next week.

The Federal Constitution provides that the act of filing for leave has the effect of staying the ruling that may have disqualified Tian Chua as Batu MP.

The PKR chief strategist was found guilty of causing hurt to a police officer in a protest more than two years ago.

courtesy of FreeMalaysiaToday