IPOH: A 53-year-old herbal trader who insulted the Orang Asli community and Parliament Deputy Speaker Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor on his Facebook account pleaded guilty at the Tapah Magistrate’s Court on Thursday (July 31).
The accused, M. Toraise @ Turesh Kumar, made the guilty plea after the charge was read before Magistrate Anis Zainab Pawanteh.
The trader from Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, was fined RM1,300.
According to the charge sheet, the accused, on May 27 at approximately 9.30pm, had intentionally made an insulting remark on his Facebook account.
His action provoked anger in an individual named Bah Bi A/L Bah Kerundang, who then lodged a police report.
The accused committed an offence punishable under Section 504 of the Penal Code.
Prosecuting officer Insp Herman Kayae asked for an appropriate sentence as a lesson to both the accused and the public to prevent repetition and to deter making comments that could disrupt public order.
The accused was represented by lawyer R. Balamurali, who said his client is a single father supporting two children and is running a small business, earning between RM1,000 and RM1,500 a month.
He added that the accused has limited language comprehension and was unaware that his actions could disrupt public peace.
"The accused has pleaded guilty, apologised, and expressed remorse for the offence committed," he said.
He paid the fine.
In the police report dated June 23, Bah Bi, who is the Malaysian Ex-Police Association (Senoi Praaq branch) president from Jalan Pahang in Tapah, lodged the report after coming across the post.
In the post, the accused had called Ramli a "sakai" and stated that he (Ramli) has the mental capacity "like Tarzan".
