BUTTERWORTH: The sessions court has acquitted and discharged former PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu of two defamatory charges over statements allegedly made with regard to the communist attack on the Bukit Kepong police station in 1950.
Sessions court judge Meor Sulaiman Ahmad Tarmizi said the prosecution had failed to established prima facie case against Mohammad Sabu.
"After listening to the closing arguments from the defence and prosecution the court orders the accused to be acquitted and discharged", he said at the Butterworth court on Wednesday.
Four years ago, Mohammad who is popularly known as Mat Sabu, 59, was charged with criminal defamation against policemen and their families who defended themselves against communists at the Bukit Kepong police station on Feb 23, 1950.
He is alleged to have committed the offence during a speech at the Pusat Asuhan Tadika Islam (Pasti) Al-Fahmi, Markas Tarbiyah PAS in Padang Menora, Tasek Gelugor, on Aug 21, 2011.
Mat Sabu was also charged with criminally defaming three policemen — Constable Marin Abu Bakar Daud, Constable Jaafar Hassan and Sargeant Yusoff Rono — and their family members at the same time, date and place.
The charges carry a two-year jail term or a fine, or both on conviction.
