Saturday January 24, 2009
21 deny illegal assembly charge
By NURBAITI HAMDAN
PETALING JAYA: A total of 21 people, including an MP, two assemblymen and a Catholic priest, were charged in the Sessions Court here with taking part in an illegal assembly and failing to disperse when ordered to do so.
Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, Selangor executive council member Ronnie Liu, Kampong Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San, Reverend Father Paulino Francesco Miranda of the Church of Divine Mercy and the rest were charged under the Police Act.
The group, aged between 25 and 62, were accused of taking part in an illegal gathering in front of the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) building on Oct 9 last year between 9pm and 10.10pm and failing to disperse after a police order was given by Supt Mohamad Shukor Sulong at about 9.50pm.
Counsel and client: Lim (left) and Liu walking out of the courtroom in Petaling Jaya Friday. All pleaded not guilty.
DPP Noorin Badaruddin asked for RM5,000 bail on one surety for each accused and their passports to be surrendered to the court to ensure their attendance in court.
However, lead defence counsel Gobind Singh Deo argued that the amount was unreasonably high as most of the accused were Chinese and they would need money for the coming Chinese New Year.
“These (people) are MPs (and assemblymen) ... We MPs do not run away,” said the Puchong MP, adding that the Public Prosecutor needed to prove the motive for the 21 people to abscond.
Gobind Singh also asked for leniency with the bail amount as the case did not involve any violence, bloodshed or stolen property.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who represented Pua, Liu and Lau, said the MBPJ building was a property of the Selangor state government and the state officials were merely “doing their own business in their own property”.
Judge Balqis Aini Mohd Ali set bail at RM1,500 on one surety for each accused and denied the DPP’s request to impound the passports of the 21 accused.
She also set March 10 for the case to be mentioned.
The courtroom was packed with the 21 accused, lawyers, reporters and supporters, forcing some of them to stand for over an hour during the bail and condition argument.
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