Johor PKR chief wants full acquittal over sedition charges

03-Aug-2018, 11:00

03 Aug 2018, 11:00

Hassan Abdul Karim does not want charges 'hanging over his head' after he was given a discharge not amounting to acquittal over tweets critical of the Selangor sultan.

Free Malaysia Today — Hassan Karim with lawyer Eric Paulsen.

PETALING JAYA:

Johor PKR chief Hassan Abdul Karim has filed an appeal to set aside last week’s ruling where a court granted him a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for sedition despite the charges against him being withdrawn.

His lawyer Eric Paulsen said a notice of appeal was lodged at the Shah Alam lower court registry yesterday.

“The Sessions Court will have to prepare the appeal records which includes the judge’s grounds of judgment,” he said.

Paulsen said Hassan, who is the Pasir Gudang MP, wanted an acquittal so that the “charges would not be hanging over his head”.

On July 27, Sessions judge Ahmad Zamzani Mohd Zain gave Hassan a discharge not amounting to an acquittal. Technically, this means he could be re-charged.

Hassan was charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 over three tweets criticising the Selangor Sultan over the 2014 menteri besar crisis.

He had also claimed trial to three alternative charges under Section 233(1)(a) of the Multimedia and Communications Act 1998 over the tweets.

He is accused of having criticised the sultan on his Twitter account @hakarim51 for being abroad during the crisis.

The prosecution had called two witnesses to give evidence but the defence wrote to Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to withdraw the charges on June 27.

In a letter dated July 24, Thomas consented to the withdrawal of the charges.