Jobless man to be recharged on May 30

KUALA KUBU BARU: The Magistrate’s Court here set May 30 for mention to charge an unemployed man who displayed a picture of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, during the recent Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election campaign.

Judge Siti Fatimah Talib, sitting as a magistrate, set the date when Deputy Public Prosecutor Asmah Che Wan informed the court that the man, P. Ramasamy, 66, was not in court yesterday, and requested a new mention date.

“The court noted that the review application by the accused (Ramasamy) in the (Shah Alam) High Court dated May 23 has been allowed. The conviction and sentence (against the accused) have been set aside.

“The court set May 30 for mention of the accused’s presence,” she said.

Earlier, lawyer L. Pavitra, representing Ramasamy, informed the court that she could not ascertain the whereabouts of her client, but confirmed that he was still in Kajang Prison on Thursday when the High Court decided on his review application, Bernama reported.

On Thursday, Judicial Commissioner Dr Wendy Ooi Su Ghee dismissed Ramasamy’s review application, and set aside his guilty plea when he was charged earlier with the offence at the Kuala Kubu Baru Magistrate’s Court.

She dismissed Ramasamy’s guilty plea on the grounds that he did not understand the effect of his action (pleading guilty), based on his mitigation, and then ordered the case back to the Kuala Kubu Baru Magistrate’s Court for trial.

Ramasamy was charged with displaying a picture of the Malaysian King and carrying a Pakatan Harapan banner using a four-wheel drive around Taman Bukit Bunga at 5.40pm on May 4.

The charge provides a jail term of not more than five years or a fine of not more than RM10,000, or both.