KUALA LUMPUR: Businesswoman Sofia Rini Buyong has claimed trial at the magistrate's court here to a charge of criminally defaming businessman and former politician Datuk Seri Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak.
Sofia Rini, 50, was accused of defaming Farhash by uttering that the former political secretary was "a Turkish national, had stolen money and sent the money abroad to Turkiye and Africa".
The statements were made in a video recording in Kuala Lumpur to harm the victim's reputation at 6.30pm on April 26.
The accused pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out before Magistrate Nurul Izzah Hasan Basri on Wednesday (July 15).
The charge under Section 500 of the Penal Code carries a maximum two-year imprisonment, a fine or both upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry offered a RM15,000 bail in one surety.
He said the proposed amount was reasonable as anything lower would carry the risk of the accused absconding.
Lawyer Shugan Raman, who represented Sofia Rini, sought lower bail on grounds that his client suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes.
He said Sofia Rini was a single mother with one child.
"She lives with her mother since the death of her husband last year. She is now a bankrupt and does not have a job.
"The amount proposed by the prosecution is out of her affordability," Raman said.
Magistrate Nurul Izzah fixed bail at RM7,000 in one surety.
The case is fixed for mention on Aug 28.
