KUALA LUMPUR – The Attorney-General’s Chambers has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal to challenge the Shah Alam High Court’s decision to overturn a 66-year-old man’s guilty plea for displaying Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim’s photo during the campaign for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election last month.
According to a court document, the notice of appeal dated May 30 was signed by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar.
On May 6, P. Ramasamy pleaded guilty to the offence under Section 4A(1) of the Election Offences Act 1954 at the Kuala Kubu Baharu magistrates’ court and was sentenced to one month in jail and a RM3,000 fine.
He then later filed a review application with the Shah Alam High Court to set aside his plea and conviction.
On May 23, high court registrar Wendy Ooi Su Ghee set aside the conviction and sentence. She said the accused had made a qualified plea of guilt.
The high court ordered that the case return to the Kuala Kubu Baharu magistrates’ court for trial.
The charge was framed under Section 4A(1) of the Election Offences Act 1954, which involves the making of statements that promote feelings of ill-will, discontent or hostility between persons of the same race or different races or of the same class or different classes of the population of Malaysia, to induce a voter to vote or refrain from voting at an election.
Previously, the lower court ordered Ramasamy to serve the custodial sentence from the date of his arrest on May 4, further ordering him to serve an additional 10 months in jail if he failed to pay the fine.
Ramasamy apologised to the lower court and pleaded for a lighter sentence. He said he was not aware of his action being wrong.
He was accused of committing the act on a four-wheel drive around Taman Bukit Bunga near Hulu Selangor at 5.40pm on May 4. The offence carries a jail term of not more than five years, a fine not exceeding RM10,000, or both. – June 4, 2024