Chegubard charged with sedition over Forest City casino remark

 

Bersatu information committee member Badrul Hisham Shaharin, better known as Chegubard, was charged in the Johor Bahru Sessions Court today with making seditious remarks related to the casino project in Forest City, on April 26.

Badrul, 45, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read before judge Rasidah Roslee.

He is accused of making seditious remarks on his Facebook account at Mutiara Villa Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur at 6.30pm, on April 26.

The charge is framed under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 (Act 15) which provides a maximum fine of RM5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both.

Deputy public prosecutors Masri Mohd Daud, Abdul Ghafar Ab Latif, Abdul Malik Ayob and Nadia Mohd Izhar appeared for the prosecution while Badrul was represented by Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali.

Also present was Pasir Gudang lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim, who held a watching brief.

Gag order bid rejected

Earlier, Masri offered bail of RM20,000 in one surety. He also applied for a gag order so that both parties would not issue any comments or public statements on any social media platform until the disposal of the case.

However, Rafique requested a lower bail because his client supports his wife and four children including one with disabilities and only the client’s wife is working.

Rafique said the RM20,000 bail offered by the prosecution is high compared with the RM5,000 penalty provided under the Sedition Act.

“The client has also been accused of the same offence at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with bail set at RM10,000 with one surety.

“The gag order applied by the prosecution is not specific and is unconstitutional as according to Article 10, Malaysians have the freedom to discuss matters openly according to the law,” said the lawyer.

The accused then allowed bail of RM10,000 in one surety. The court rejected the gag order applied by the prosecution.

The court also set June 24 for mention.

Yesterday, Badrul was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with two counts of inciting and issuing defamatory remarks that would tarnish the good name of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.

He, however, pleaded not guilty after the two charges were read before judge Siti Aminah Ghazali.

- Bernama