ID :
51037
Tue, 03/17/2009 - 17:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/51037
The shortlink copeid
OPPOSITION POLITICIAN KARPAL SINGH PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO SEDITION
KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) -- Opposition politician and lawyer DAP
chairman Karpal Singh pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here Tuesday to
sedition.
He is alleged to have uttered seditious words during a media conference
relating to the Sultan of Perak at his office at Messrs Karpal Singh & Co in
Jalan Pudu Lama here between noon and 12.30pm on Feb 6.
Karpal, 69, was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948. If
convicted, he faces a maximum RM5,000 fine or three years jail, or both.
Judge Mohamad Sekeri Mamat allowed him bail of RM2,000 with one surety and
ordered the case to be transferred to the High Court after both the prosecution
and defence agreed to it.
The prosecution was represented by Senior Federal Counsel Kamaludin Md
Said and Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria while Karpal was assisted by 12 other lawyers
including his four children -- Gobind Singh Deo, Jagdeep Singh Deo, Sangeet
Kaur Deo and Ram Karpal Deo.
Karpal's wife, Gurmeet Kaur, and several supporters were seen in court.
Earlier, Karpal applied to remain outside the dock since his wheelchair
could not get inside it. "I don't want privileges because usually the accused is
supposed to be get inside the dock but can I be exempted?"
The judge allowed the request after the prosecution did not object to it.
The charge took 15 minutes to be read after Karpal asked to hear the
contents of all the 10-page attachments furnished by the prosecution before
entering his plea although the judge had initially ordered only the relevant
parts to be read.
Speaking to reporters later, Karpal said the prosecution was politically
motivated and it had not proof.
Asked why he did not object the transfer, he said: "I think we should go to
the High Court. This is a proper case for High Court. The case can be taken up
to the Federal Court, which is the highest court in the country."
Karpal had been charged under the same Act on Jan 15, 2000 in the Sessions
Court here for seditious statements on arsenic poisoning during Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim's trial. The prosecution dropped the charge in 2003.
The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social
democratic/democratic socialist Malaysian political party and it is one of the
three major opposition parties in Malaysia. DAP is one of the component parties
of People's Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat).
-- BERNAMA
chairman Karpal Singh pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here Tuesday to
sedition.
He is alleged to have uttered seditious words during a media conference
relating to the Sultan of Perak at his office at Messrs Karpal Singh & Co in
Jalan Pudu Lama here between noon and 12.30pm on Feb 6.
Karpal, 69, was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948. If
convicted, he faces a maximum RM5,000 fine or three years jail, or both.
Judge Mohamad Sekeri Mamat allowed him bail of RM2,000 with one surety and
ordered the case to be transferred to the High Court after both the prosecution
and defence agreed to it.
The prosecution was represented by Senior Federal Counsel Kamaludin Md
Said and Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria while Karpal was assisted by 12 other lawyers
including his four children -- Gobind Singh Deo, Jagdeep Singh Deo, Sangeet
Kaur Deo and Ram Karpal Deo.
Karpal's wife, Gurmeet Kaur, and several supporters were seen in court.
Earlier, Karpal applied to remain outside the dock since his wheelchair
could not get inside it. "I don't want privileges because usually the accused is
supposed to be get inside the dock but can I be exempted?"
The judge allowed the request after the prosecution did not object to it.
The charge took 15 minutes to be read after Karpal asked to hear the
contents of all the 10-page attachments furnished by the prosecution before
entering his plea although the judge had initially ordered only the relevant
parts to be read.
Speaking to reporters later, Karpal said the prosecution was politically
motivated and it had not proof.
Asked why he did not object the transfer, he said: "I think we should go to
the High Court. This is a proper case for High Court. The case can be taken up
to the Federal Court, which is the highest court in the country."
Karpal had been charged under the same Act on Jan 15, 2000 in the Sessions
Court here for seditious statements on arsenic poisoning during Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim's trial. The prosecution dropped the charge in 2003.
The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social
democratic/democratic socialist Malaysian political party and it is one of the
three major opposition parties in Malaysia. DAP is one of the component parties
of People's Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat).
-- BERNAMA
