SEPANG: A 48-year-old man has pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to 11 charges of making indecent and excessively obscene comments targeting Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The accused, Ruslan Mat Ali, who works as a diver and is a single father, entered his plea after the charges were read before Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman.
He is accused of knowingly making and initiating the transmission of indecent and excessively obscene comments with the intent to annoy others on his Facebook from Jan 21 to Feb 25.
He was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which provides for a fine not exceeding RM50,000, or imprisonment for up to one year, or both, upon conviction.
According to the first charge, the post was accessed on Feb 4 at approximately 7am at MCMC Tower 1, Jalan Impact, Cyber 6, Cyberjaya.
For the second to eleventh charges, the posts were accessed on Feb 26, between 1.51pm and 4.30pm, at the MCMC Centre of Excellence, Jalan Impact, Cyber 6, Cyberjaya.
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) deputy public prosecutor Fadhli Ab Wahab proposed that bail be set at RM15,000 with one surety.
However, the accused, who was unrepresented, appealed for a lower amount, citing the absence of a fixed income and the responsibility of supporting his three children.
Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman set bail at RM10,000, with case mention fixed for July 18.
The accused failed to post bail and has been remanded until the next mention date. – Bernama
