Papagomo pleads not guilty to sedition charge over tweet

KUALA LUMPUR: Blogger Wan Muhammad Azri bin Wan Deris, or Papagomo, has been charged over an alleged seditious post on X (formerly known as Twitter) in relation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

He pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him before Siti Aminah Ghazali here on Thursday (May 2).

ALSO READ: Papagomo charged with sedition over Twitter post

According to the charge sheet, Wan Muhammad Azri allegedly published a seditious posting on X under the account "sir_azri".

The offence was allegedly committed at a condominium in Bukit Bintang at 12pm on April 29.

He was charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 punishable under Subsection 4(1) of the same Act, which carries a maximum three years imprisonment or RM5,000 fine of both upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Khairul Azreem Mamat did not offer bail but sought a high amount if the court exercised its discretion to grant bail.

"We also seek a gag order for the accused to refrain from commenting in the case to ensure that the case is not disrupted.

ALSO READ: Papagomo remanded for two days

"The order is necessary as a precaution and to avoid provocation," he said.

Lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, who represented the accused, however said that his client was slapped with a bailable offence.

He asked the court to grant bail as Wan Muhammad Azri is supporting his wife and five children.

Muhammad Rafique asked the court to impose a RM10,000 bail, a similar amount in the case of Badrul Hisham Shaharin (or Chegubard) who was charged under the same Act.

The lawyer also objected to the gag order application.

Siti Aminah allowed bail at RM15,000 in one surety with additional condition that the accused must report his attendance to the police station once a month until the disposal of the case.

The court dismissed the application for a gag order and fixed May 23 for mention.