KUALA LUMPUR: Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has been advised by the High Court to be more mindful when commenting about his court case on his social media posts.
Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said he could understand Syed Saddiq’s predicament being in the public eye but he must distinguish his roles when posting comments.
“In a way, I understand his predicament but he has to separate his hats, from being a politician and an accused,” the judge said yesterday.
The advice came after Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin informed the court that Syed Saddiq had posted comments on his Facebook about his money laundering and misappropriation cases.
DPP Wan Shaharuddin said he was not applying for a gag order but a reminder to the Muar MP.
“I would like to remind the accused that he should not be posting about his defence on Facebook because this could be used against him,” he said.
In the spotlight: Syed Saddiq speaking to the media at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur. — ART CHEN/The Star
Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, who represented Syed Saddiq, said being an MP, his client was asked about his court case by members of the public.
“My learned friend should understand this matter. The public would want to know what he had to say about his case.
“I’m of the view that there must be some form of flexibility (to speak about the case),” Gobind said.
Justice Mohamed Zaini told Gobind that as a lawyer, he could advise his client on what to do with regard to his social media postings from time to time.
Earlier, all four charges, which will be heard together in a joint trial, were read out again at the High Court as the matter was brought for mention for the first time after the cases were transferred to the higher court.
Syed Saddiq pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The court fixed March 24 for further case management.
The trial has been fixed for 22 days from June 7 to 10, June 20 to 22, June 27 and 28, July 4 to 8, July 13 to 15 and July 18 to 22.
On July 22 last year, Syed Saddiq claimed trial to a charge of CBT involving RM1mil and another charge of misappropriation of monies involving RM120,000, said to be funds that belonged to his former party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
On Aug 5 last year, he also claimed trial to two counts of money laundering involving RM100,000, said to be proceeds from illegal activities.
